Between 2015 and 2018 I was doing field research on the informal livestock industry in the Western Cape and spent a lot of time in almost all of the Province's informal settlements, RDP housing projects and low income communities. One of the best sources of information I discovered about criminal and quasi-criminal behaviour in any of the rural and peri-urban areas I visited was the local SAPS stock theft unit. I found them to be professional, helpful and knowledgeable. They are worth getting to know.