There are brazen crimes. Then there is what happened in Newton Park.
For nearly two days, men in a cherry-picker, accompanied by a bakkie, closed part of 5th Avenue with traffic cones.
They diverted vehicles, worked in broad daylight and through the night, and removed about 200m of municipal copper power lines.
No-one challenged them because why would they? They looked exactly like a legitimate municipal work crew.
One resident even offered them a bottle of Coke.
By the time they packed up in the early hours on Monday, the copper had vanished.
It was replaced with a cheaper aluminium conductor.
The shoddy workmanship has raised concerns about the risk of people being electrocuted.
It is difficult to think of a more damning indictment of the state of law enforcement and the municipality.
This was not a smash-and-grab. It was not criminals striking under the cover of darkness.
They acted as if no-one would question them, as experience had apparently taught them that no-one would.
If criminals can remove critical electrical infrastructure over an entire weekend while masquerading as contractors, what message does that send?
It says organised criminals no longer fear being caught.
Where were the municipal inspectors?
Why did no-one verify who was carrying out such extensive work on public infrastructure?
How is it possible to close a road, operate heavy machinery and dismantle electrical lines without attracting official scrutiny?
Infrastructure theft has become one of SA’s most expensive and persistent crimes precisely because the response has too often been reactive rather than proactive.
Criminal syndicates know where the gaps are. They know oversight is weak. They know they can blend into everyday municipal activity.
The municipality must urgently review how work is authorised and identified.
Legitimate contractors should be easily verifiable.
Police and municipal enforcement units should be empowered to stop and inspect any crew working on public infrastructure.
Residents should have access to a simple way of confirming whether roadworks or electrical maintenance work are genuine.
The ball is in the metro’s court to prevent further thefts.
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