Recently, a number of people around me have been the victims of robberies.

These incidents are irritating, not only because of the value of the items stolen, but also because of the amount of subsequent work required to replace them and to mend the damage caused by the thieves.

In one case, robbers took all the metal pieces that they could find in the garden of a house, including the garden table . . . much worse, they took all the gas piping out of the gas braai. The device is now useless until all the parts are replaced, which is a huge nuisance.

If such a thief were to be caught and taken to court, the defence would probably say that it was no big deal, since the total scrap metal value of the braai parts was only a few rands. Buying new parts is really expensive. But it is the nuisance and irritation associated with it that is a major factor. Had the braai owner caught the thief and beaten him severely, the owner, quite possibly, would have been accused of using excessive force. The same owner had been robbed of his TV set and other electronic equipment only a few days before. So, had his state of mind been such that he really thumped the thief, he would have had my sympathy.

This wide-ranging theft has to stop. I also see all these stories of cable theft. That is the same principle but on a grander scale. The cost of the stolen cable is one thing – the cost to a district left in the dark with no electricity for hours or days is far greater.

If cable thieves are caught and taken to court, to my mind, they should be charged with an offence equal to a multimillion-rand diamond theft. They should not be charged only at the value of the cable.

Having said that, I also have to say that it is essential to find the people who are receiving the stolen cable. Without a market, the thieves cannot prosper. I find it hard to understand why these people are not caught. One imagines that any scrap metal dealer presented with 100 m of underground cable is going to wonder where it came from. The dealer must realise that it was stolen, in which case the dealer should get some- thing like a 20-year jail sentence, not just a simple sentence for dealing in a few kilos of stolen metal.

Thieves are cutting railings off bridges and selling them. Is that metal not clearly recognised by scrap metal dealers? People can now fall off bridges and be killed. But railing theft is not viewed as a potential homicide.

Clearly, some scrap metal dealers are criminals and are in cahoots with the crooks. They have to be found and dealt with so severely that it becomes clear what happens to people linked to cutting electricity to whole suburbs and business districts.

What is also of great importance is that a social stigma be associated with such thieves. To my mind, many of these types of thieves can live in their neighbourhoods with impunity. They are often viewed by their communities as pranksters rather than as disgraceful criminals who need to be behind bars for a long time.

The image, at times, that gangsters are somehow some sort of local heroes, is also disgraceful. Portraying clothing ranges and other fashion accessories as being of the gangster lifestyle in a glamorous way is a disgrace.