Tangeni Amupadhi
Armed robbers have gone cerebral. Second-hand bookshops are the latest targets for an enterprising criminal duo who have hit at least six outlets in the past six weeks.
The smartly dressed men, armed with their own “closed for business” sign, have made off with an undisclosed amount of money and left behind few clues.
“Who would want to hold up a bookshop?” says Shelly Greybe, manager of Book Dealers of Melville. “It doesn’t make sense.”
While many are putting the robbery down to desperation by the criminals, some are advancing the theory that the robbers have turned to serial crime to fund a book club.
Three bookshops in Melville, and one each in Rosebank, Hyde Park and Yeoville have been hit.
The shop owners complain of police inaction and say they are unable to figure out what makes them a target for robbers because they have very little of material value.
Wolf Weinik of Out of Print says many second-hand bookshop owners are now afraid to stay open late.
The more worrying issue, says David Finch of Pict Books, is that police do not seem to take the robberies seriously. He is still waiting for police to come to him and compile identikits.
Other bookshops have had a similar response from the police.
“Police probably feel it is minor crime but we can’t wait for somebody to get hurt,” says Weinik.
According to Lorraine Street of Booknook, whose shop was robbed for the first time in its 23-year existence, neighbouring businesses are a constant target for robbers.
The shop owners say the gang’s modus operandi is to wait until the shop is empty – browsing to keep themselves busy.
They then call the attendant behind the shelves out of view of passersby before drawing their guns and displaying the “closed for business” sign on the door. The take from the till is mostly less than R200, along with personal cash and watches.
Superintendent David Oliphant says police are designing a strategy to stop the robberies of second-hand bookshops.