Gate motor theft on the rise in city

Neighbourhoods Fauna Park, Bendor and Mahlasedi Park have seen a sharp rise in gate motor theft, prompting warnings from security companies and calls for stronger community involvement in crime prevention.

- Koketšo Sekhwela

Gate motor specialist Hannes Els of BH Bros confirmed that Fidelity ADT's recent findings, that point to five cases in one week, reflect only a portion of the problem, since many incidents go unreported.

Els explained that stolen motors and batteries often end up in scrapyards or are sold on the black market at discounted prices.

In some cases installers have removed working motors to re-install them elsewhere for profit, leaving homes vulnerable when gates are forced onto manual override.