City records ‘rapid’ rise in safety escorts
09 June 2024
The current financial year has seen a marked increase in the number of Law Enforcement escorts for City staff and contractors, coinciding with the launch of the Facility Protection Officers (FPO) initiative, to help address the increase in extortion-related threats, and incidents. Read more below:
The Facility Protection Officers (FPO) initiative was launched in May 2023.
Their mandate is to protect City facilities against vandalism and theft, as the name suggests, but also to help safeguard projects and staff amid a surge in extortion-related incidents that have severely impacted service delivery.
The FPOs work under the auspices of the existing Rapid Response Unit within the Law Enforcement Department.
Since the introduction of the FPOs, there has been a 32% increase year-on-year in visits/patrols at City facilities, and a 20% drop in alarms received.
The number of escorts provided to City departments and contractors increased from 759 in a nine-month period in 2022/23, to 1 292 during the same period in the current financial year, representing a 70% increase.
'The massive spike in escorts speaks to our commitment to keeping staff and contractors safe, and to ensure that service delivery happens as needed. Sadly, it is also a reflection of the very difficult circumstances in many of our communities. No one should have to worry about their safety when heading out to fix a street light, or a pipe, or to put out a fire, but here we are. For a long time, our rescue services were mindlessly targeted in high risk areas, but today, with the proliferation of extortion rackets, everyone is at risk, and often with fatal consequences, as we have seen in recent years,' said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
Apart from the introduction of the FPOs, the City has also launched an anti-extortion campaign, making available a 24-hour hotline (0800 00 6992) and rewards system, to encourage residents to report incidents.
In addition, the City's internal investigative unit has assisted with registering 105 cases with the South African Police Service since January 2023, linked to intimidation of public representatives within council, City staff and City linked contractors.
'These interventions are a start, but if we are to make a meaningful dent in the extortion rackets plaguing so many City projects, but also other industries and communities in general, much more needs to be done in the criminal justice system. The City renews its call for better integration between SAPS and City services, real-time sharing of crime statistics and intelligence related to extortion, and properly resourced investigators who can finalise cases, and get convictions,' added Alderman Smith.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
