WATCH | 'Ja, I got you': Dad's warning as he films would-be crowbar burglar

A Cape Town father videoing a would-be crowbar robber whistled at him through a bedroom window - and continued filming as the criminal fled.

But when the householder reported the incident to the police and offered the video as evidence, they refused to open a case.

"I spoke to a friend who is a police captain, and he advised me to put the video on social media and hope it goes viral," said the Strandfontein man.

He began filming when a white Toyota Quantum taxi pulled up outside his house for a second time on Tuesday morning.

"The first time, a guy got out the back and knocked on my door," said the man, who asked TimesLIVE not to publish his name.

"I was very suspicious because the taxi had no front number plate, and something about it really raised my senses."

The would-be burglar got back into the taxi, which drove off, but "something told me to look again and they were back," said the man.

He shot video as another man alighted from the front passenger seat, talking on his phone, and arrived at his door.

"I went to my daughter's room because it's next to the front door and I wanted to video his face," said the man.

"Then I saw him taking out his crowbar and attacking my security gate."

In the video the house owner whistles, then says: "Hell, ja, I got you, got you," as the burglar runs back to the waiting taxi.

The man said officers at Strandfontein were not interested in his crime report. "They just said that because there was no numberplate there was nothing they could do," he said.

But on his way home, he stopped at a filling station where an attendant said he had noticed the taxi driving around about half an hour before the attempted break-in.

Sandy Schuter, chair of the Strandfontein community police forum, said there had been a spate of "crowbar gang" incidents in the area until about two months ago, when they dried up.

"Unfortunately no-one was arrested because the Saps is not as efficient as we would want them to be," she said.

When the alarm was raised on Tuesday, neighbourhood watch patrollers were alerted to look for the taxi, she said, but their search was fruitless.

Strandfontein resident DeVoe Johnson, who posted the video on Facebook, told TimesLIVE: "The things going on in this area are scary. The police are ridiculous. People should be aware of this nonsense."