George Herald | Daytime burglary at Arts Theatre

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Daytime burglary at Arts Theatre
16:00 (GMT+2), Thu, 12 July 2012

GEORGE NEWS - During a bold daytime burglary at the Arts Theatre on Friday, while Manager, Beatrice Esterhuysen was present in the building, an expensive laptop computer was snatched.

"I shudder to think what would have happened if I had caught the burglars red handed," said Esterhuysen. The thief or thieves, broke the locks on the back stage door, and sneaked in and grabbed the computer.

It took the Flying Squad 40 minutes to arrive, by then the culprits had fled. If the car guard is to be believed, two men were seen at the front door of the Arts Theatre shortly before the break-in.

Esterhuysen told the George Herald this week it was a shocking discovery. "It was quite an invasion. The burglar had managed to break in through a back stage door, while I was in the Rose Room making coffee for a visitor. I can only assume that he heard me return, which made him beat a retreat through the back door again. I spend a lot of time in the booking office, and this has made me feel quite vulnerable."

There have been two burglaries and numerous attempts of theft. "People walk through the front door all the time with weak excuses - all the while casing the joint and waiting to strike," said Esterhuysen who has had to be quite bold to ward off chancers.

Chairman of the George CBD Forum Bez Bezuidenhout said he was gravely worried about the crime situation. "There are a lot of business people that are having a tough time. We are totally dependent on the cooperation of the police. The CCTV camera surveillance is about to come online soon, but in the meantime there are businesses that are easy targets. I have my own privately owned surveillance system and this does seem to help," said Bezuidenhout who promised he would be raising the poor police response at the Arts Theatre with the CBD Security Meeting taking place on Wednesday.

Shoestring
Although most of the information on the computer was backed-up, it was quite a mission to retrieve most of it.
Esterhuysen would like to see security at the Arts Theatre stepped up drastically, although it might be unaffordable for the George Society of Arts, which operates on a shoestring budget. Most of the funds raised are spent on maintaining the old building, which was built in 1905. Anyone wishing to donate a laptop can contact Beatrice at 084 583 2460 or 044 874 3142.

*Die bestuurder van die George Arts Theatre in Yorkstraat, Beatrice Esterhuysen se duur skootrekenaar is Vrydag by die teater gesteel na twee inbre-kers die slot van die agterste verhoogdeur oopgebreek het terwyl sy besig was om vir 'n gas koffie te maak. Die blitspatrollie het volgens Esterhuysen 40 minute gevat om op die toneel te kom.

ARTICLE: PAULINE LOURENS, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST