Armed response officer nabbed for break-in

An off-duty security firm official was arrested at the weekend for allegedly breaking into Collegiate Junior School for Girls in Glendinningvale.

The suspect is employed by Atlas Security as an armed response officer.

According to police, two men were seen fleeing the school grounds shortly before midnight on Friday.

Police spokesman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said a patrolling neighbourhood watch car had spotted a man trying to scale the wall on the Kestell Street side of the school.

“He alerted the police and the other neighbourhood watch personnel who in turn chased the two suspects through the school grounds.

“One of the suspects was arrested after he allegedly threw a computer monitor on the ground in an attempt to escape,” she said.

Janse van Rensburg said that after the arrest, detectives followed up on information and arrested a second suspect, aged 20.

“Both suspects live in the Kensington area,” she said.

Police have declined to release the names of the men until they are formally charged in court.

Atlas Security operations manager Monty Montgomery said he was aware of the incident and was working with the police.

“I was alerted via Facebook where a police officer put it online.

“Only after making several enquiries did it come to light that there had been an arrest,” he said.

“He will be suspended with immediate effect pending an internal probe.”

Montgomery said the response officer was a new recruit who was still on probation.

“We are in the process of alerting the Private Security Regulatory Authority [PSIRA].”

Both men are due to appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court today where they will be charged with burglary and theft.