Over the weekend, Crystal High School on Greenturf Road, Hanover Park suffered a break-in that saw some of their computer equipment swiped by robbers, as Eminetra and IOL report.
The theft was also confirmed by the school.
Deputy principal Fiona Blanchard stated that the break-in happened in the early hours of Saturday morning, at roughly 4am, according to the publications.
The thieves attacked the security and brought pit bulls to secure their operation.
The police were contacted by a warden whilst the robbery was still ongoing, but the police from Philippi allegedly only made their way onto the scene hours later at 11am.
The goods that were grabbed included ten smart monitors, keyboards and mics, after the thieves destroyed the doors and heavy-duty locks to make entry. The CCTV surveillance cameras had been stolen in a previous burglary according to Blanchard.
“Hope it helps to know these are smart monitors. It doesn’t have a hard drive, so it can’t be sold as a computer. It only works as a screen over wifi connections.
“We cannot easily replace this due to lack of funding and a community that does not pay tuition on a regular basis, “ she added.
This is a huge blow for the school as most of the students rely on technologies at school to complete their work as they don’t have the same facilities at home.
“Learners were just starting to empower themselves with these smart displays,” Blanchard expressed in light of the Western Cape Education Department’s installations.
The facilities were also used for WCED remedial programs.
Yaseen Johaar, Hanover Park Community Policing Forum member noted that was is so sad is that “these are the same criminals whose children or family members attend this school.”
Picture: Unsplash