http://tinyurl.com/39e3kqa

Muggers strike again, and again. And again.
This is set to increase, presumably, as summer comes and the tourists come with it.

Silence from SANParks. Not even the customary denials. Nothing either from SAP. Presumably both have their hands full with the poachers:

here: http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/ ... y-1.690838
and here: http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/ ... f-1.690118

Be safe out there. Though God knows how.
~B

disgusting what people do

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safe

I went up TM alone today and saw two very suspicious-looking "locals" when I was off-route.

I wanted to do the India Venster route, but missed the right turn right after you cross the contour path and headed straight up the gulley. At a point (near the Lower Buttress) the scrambling went over C grade (or I'm just a wuss!) and it was wet, so I decided to retreat and ascend Plattekloof Gorge instead. When I started retracing my scramble, I noticed two shoddy-clothed locals, one with a plastic shopping bag, heading up my way. Knowing about the muggings, I thought at first they were after me, but they then disappeared out east. They were on the eastern side of the gully about 10 minutes above the contour path.

I later descended via India Venster after vistiting the top cable car station and chatting to some climbers there, and didn't see any sign of them.

Met a guy named Brent on India Venster - I don't suppose that's you?

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"I have no more friends, and my nuts are too small!"

Hey Gollum,
Are you the guy who just emigrated from up north near Bloem to Cape Town? I'm Brent and was the one who met you near the top of India Venster.

We saw a guy who started walking up with us and looked pretty suspicious too. The speed we were walking though he could not keep up and we left him before he got to the contour path. He did not look like a hiker, was wearing a white t-shirt with a white button up shirt loosely over it and dark long pants...he started hiking with us and when we stopped for a quick breather stopped a few meters behind us. He did not threaten or anything....he just seemed dodgy...luckily Tyrone who I was climbing with has a black belt in karate...

there were two very suspicious looking okes on India Venster yesterday, but it was just me and shorti. the oke who could not keep up was probably sheppard, who is even more suspicious looking...

beware the histerics guys, lots of bergies on TM (hence the name) and guys going out for a stroll on their own. having a can of pepper spray on you won't hurt however. shorti thinks his most precious cowbell (WC hex on dyneema sling) could also be useful to clobber an aspiring mugger back to the land of good behaviours; but only if his impressive mo' is not enough to scare the culprit in submission (very slim chance that won't work).

mokganjetsi, did you guys climb or just hiking?

I passed two people sitting at the contour path they hiked up just in front of us...seem to recall one having a vibrant orange pack...and their genetic persuasion was that of not needing much sunscreen (gotta be politically correct on how to say these things)

Was that you?

he brussel, i do have a bright orange pack but my complexion becomes crayfish like should i not wear enough sunscreen we were a group of 6 going up.

we hiked up IV with the plan to climb jacob's & escalator. ended up just having coffee at the shop on top and strolled back down to the lower butresses where we enjoyed bombay duck & indian giver - bombay duck is a superb route!

I got the feeling we must try and maybe get more and more climbers and hikers that know there way around the mountain and go in groups of say 2 to 4 and maybe start surprising the muggers!
the attacker becomes the victim.....
can you imagine the look on their faces when you come up from behind and say HELLO...Get THE HELL OFF MY MOUNTAIN!!! ha ha

Yea mok, I agree Bombay Duck is AWESOME! And so is that ab down off the new chains!!!! One of the most amazing abseils I've done!!! And saves
squashing all the veg under our heavy feet on the way back around to the 'other side'! Thanks Douw and Andy!! Placed extremely discreetly and very schweet!


Ryan Matchett (Photo, Sandra) on Bombay Duck with our 'ab line' to the left.

Sorry to hijack the thread.
I certainly do think this muggings situation is a very serious matter, that needs as much attention as what can be afforded!!! But I also think
us as humans make FAR too many assumptions!

Ja, that were I!

The TM mugging problem seems to be very much like the smuggler problem in the Drakensberg (which I will be seeing a whole lot less now ), and with proper precautions in both cases, one should be able to keep the risk at acceptably low levels.

_________________
"I have no more friends, and my nuts are too small!"

I get terribly irritated with the fact that I need to watch my back in the mountains, but in TMNP's defence, I was hiking along the Newlands/Kirstenbosch contour path and met two rangers patrolling. Obviously not enough, but it was encouraging.

The Duck was classic, thanks, Mok!
And to Andy and Douw for the anchors - schweet abseil!
We must do this again soon!
(I've got a whole set of hexes and a fat cam for protection....)

Multiple Muggings yesterday on Devils Peak / Saddle Area

With regards to being politically correct, please lets call a spade a spade. Black, White, Coloured or any of the other 11 recognised cultures... call it as you see it.

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Climb ZA - Administrator

Their are white rapists out there, their are white paedophiles out there, there are white men who beat their wives out there. I was speaking to a councillor and she was telling me their was a lot of domestic violence by white men suburbia.

When you report on poverty related crimes such as robbery where the perpetrators are always most likely going to be black because of poverty related reasons, you can create the impression I believe that black people only do crime and that white people are safe. This could lead to someone letting their guard down around a white person and being a victim of assault, rape etc.

I don't have a problem with someone saying a black mugger robbed me, though it is only useful to the police if it is part of a wider description of the suspect and if I am in the mountain and see a white person on the mountain I don't know, I am not going to let my guard down because I don't know them or what they are up to.

What Would be useful to SAPS is if you tell them you were mugged by a white guy. Imagine how hilarious that would be.

I wouldn't find it funny if I was assaulted by a white guy and I would hope that the police wouldn't find it funny either.

A couple of years back a white kid walked off with my backpack at Llandudno beach, I approached him, grabbed by backpack, he gave excuses and then my wife shouted 'Grab him'.
He took off and I gave chase, he stopped after about 100 meters on and pulled a knife out. I told him to 'F' off' and he did.
We then went to the Hout Bay police station to report it - they were aware of this individual (no body laughed).

Two things I learnt:
- Be suspect of people wearing shoes & socks on the beach (i.e. if it seems odd, it probably is)
- In this type of situation, always assume the person is concealing a weapon on them

SA has it's problems. I've been around and have come to realise that everywhere (Europe/USA specifically) in the world has its problems.
I choose to live here in South Africa.

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Climb ZA - Administrator

Here here Justin!!!!
I too have been fortunate enough to have done a fair bit of travel and yes there are some amazing places out there that will change your views on life and the world, but nothing comes close to my/our home! We are BLESSED more than most realize! Yes we lead rather 'exciting' and unpredictable lives... but i'd rather have it that way than knowing exactly what's going to happen tomorrow and the days following that for the rest of my life!
And as you say, the grass is CERTAINLY NOT greener on the other side!
VIVA SA VIVA!

You guys are right, there is crime all over the world, maybe not as much as South Africa but there is crime all over the world.

I know from my father in Athens that a criminal will shoot you dead for your scooter if you don't hand him over your scooter when he points a firearm at you. Mykonos had a rape problem, I don't know if they still do where lots female tourists were being rape by greek taxi drivers.

My brother in law who is British brother was hijacked in Spain.

My older sister who lives in London friends husband was beaten up with baseball bats by guys who wanted to steal his laptop.

When I stayed in Forest Hill which is located in the London Borough of Lewisham, I heard through the grapevine that a retarted man had got into an argument with a group of men and these men kicked him to death outside the Salisbury supermarket.

They say this cab driver in London could of raped more than 200 women over many years. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/2 ... ist-jailed

Why did it take the Metropolitan Police( http://www.met.police.uk) in London so long to catch him.

A friend who teaching English in South Korea says the police have warned them now that taxi drivers there are raping women.

Crime is underreported in China.

China and Iran has social problems and crime. Iran has one of the highest heroin addiction rate in the world.

Crime was underreported in apartheid South Africa because we didn't have press freedom like we do today and we didn't have things such as twitter and facebook where the free flow of information could take place.

"Civilized societies are build on Civil Liberties."

http://www.kenilworthpd.org/Safety/safe ... unners.htm

http://www.kenilworthpd.org/safety.htm

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_a ... e-assaults

http://www.nationmaster.com/country/sw-sweden/cri-crime

It doesn't matter to a woman who has been raped in Sweden or a person who been attacked on the streets in Sweden that South Africa has a higher crime rate than them. Their life has been affected. We shouldn't play with crime stastitics. Things should be done to prevent crime and keep people safe. It is not relevant if one or two people have been attacked, no one should be attacked.

A Swedish guy told me once that Sweden does have corruption. It is considered to have one of cleanest governments in the world but that doesn't mean it is totally free from corruption.

Lets leave China and Iran up to the Americans, the Swedes can take care of themselves.
Once we've sorted out our own mountain muggings maybe we can look into it.

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Climb ZA - Administrator

Sigh.

All the okes who are proud of how much travelling they have done and still chose south africa and argue that the crime level is fine and in some cases justified stand one side .
All the okes who are concerned about crime on the mountain because it never used to be like that and it's not a good thing and something should be done stand to the other side.

Society crumbles when people make dumb arguments.

Just by the way I was the oke who was on the hill on wednesday that reported bumping into those mugged people. And they weren't interested to know that their predicament was less important than what happens overseas, particularly the oke with the blood who came running past. And they all reported that it was one very large black oke, yes black oke (sorry I couldn't change it to a white oke to make it fair), with a panga or large butchers knife.

I got this information off the New York Police Departments website. You may not agree with everything, that is up to you.

# Do not take shortcuts or dirt paths through wooded areas.
# Remember there is safety in numbers. Always walk or run with a friend. Look into joining a local community running club.
# Remain alert and aware at all times of your surroundings. Don't wear headphones.Tune into your surrounding not out.
# Don't carry a wallet
# Don't wear jewelry or carry cash.
# Hide your cellphone away.Have all the emergency numbers programmed into your cellphone.
# Familiarize yourself with the mountain. Know escape routes, know where the nearest help will be if you need it.
# Should someone attempt to verbally harass you, just keeping on walking. Responding to this kind of behavior could escalate the situation.If the harassment continues, run away and scream for help and get to a safe place.
# Should you become the victim of a crime remember the following:
#1. Remain as calm as possible. Don't make any quick or sudden movements. Many times the criminal is as nervous as yourself.
#2. Don't be a hero. No amount of money or property is worth your life. Only fight back if you are in physical harm. If a guy just points a knife at you and wants your wallet, give him your wallet, if he wants to kill you and tries to stab you then you have no choice but to fight for your life.
#3. Be observant. Try to remember as much as possible about the criminal: sex, age, race, clothing, height, weight, etc.
4. Call the police

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/crime ... l#yourself

Any feedback or comments about the points above? Do you agree or disagree?

Drifter, not sure we have time to read the overseas crap. Join your local neighbouhood watch, do patrols, get involved and make a difference. YAWN to whats happening in KOREA.

Assaults 548,847 [2nd of 49]
Burglaries 393,959 [4th of 38]
Car thefts 93,133 [6th of 46]
Death penalty > Abolition date 1,997 [15th of 64]
Death penalty > Last executed 1,991 [5th of 55]
Drug offences 53,810 per 100,000 people [4th of 46]
Gun violence > Homicides > % homicides with firearms 59.2028 [2nd of 32]
Gun violence > Homicides > Overall homicide rate > per 100,000 pop. 125.965 [1st of 32]
Kidnappings 3,071 kidnappings [2nd of 39]
Murders 21,553 [1st of 49]
Murders with firearms 31,918 [1st of 36]
Police 101,582 [8th of 47]
Prisoners 181,944 prisoners [2nd of 168]
Prisoners > Per capita 402 per 100,000 people [10th of 164]
Rapes 52,425 [2nd of 50]
Robberies 228,442 [3rd of 47]
Software piracy rate 34% [89th of 107]
Total crimes 2,683,849 [5th of 50]

A survey for the period 1998–2000 compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ranked South Africa second for assault and murder (by all means) per capita and first for rapes per capita in a data set of 60 countries.Total crime per capita was 10th out of the 60 countries in the dataset

I'm not worried about the crime though because I know it will never happen to me

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film ... ciety.html

My point I was trying to make is that violent crime is not a black man thing only. My point it is dangerous to stereotype and say only this specific group does violent crime.

You can tell the police the person is black or white but that by itself is not going to help the police much. They need more of a description than just that the suspect is black or white and has a knife.