A Mitchells Plain traffic officer has been praised after he helped recover a stolen cellphone in Westridge on Thursday morning.

The officer, identified as Sims, spotted a man running near Westridge Gardens at about 7am while on his way to operate a speed camera on Jakes Gerwel Drive. Moments later, he learnt from a passer-by that the man had allegedly robbed him of his phone.

Mitchells Plain traffic officer spots suspect near sports field

According to the Cape Argus report, Sims said he noticed the man running across the road near Stephen Reagan sports field and felt something was wrong. He then made a U-turn near the fire station and asked a nearby civilian what had happened.

The man told him he had just been robbed. Sims then drove around the sports field with his blue light on, hoping the suspect would emerge.

After several attempts, a security guard at the field told Sims that a man was standing near a wall with what appeared to be a phone. Sims approached from the blind side while wearing a City of Cape Town jacket, which he said helped him avoid being recognised immediately as a traffic officer.

Stolen cellphone traced through safety groups

Sims said the suspect first claimed the phone belonged to him but could not unlock it. He then changed his version and said he had picked it up.

The Mitchells Plain traffic officer questioned him, asking how he could simply pick up “a nice phone like that”. The suspect then ran off, while Sims kept the cellphone.

After recovering the device, Sims turned to local WhatsApp safety groups to find its owner. A woman later contacted him and said she recognised the lock-screen image as that of the manager of Spur in Westgate Mall.

Victim did not open a case

The owner was eventually traced and the phone was returned. Sims said the victim did not open a case and was relieved to get the device back.

“The victim didn’t open a case; he was just glad that he got his phone back and burst into tears and thanked me,” Sims said, according to the Cape Argus.

The incident has drawn attention to the role that local safety networks can play when residents, security staff and officers respond quickly to crime in their area. In this case, the combined effort helped return the phone within a short time.