Effective investigations and prosecutions are needed to stem public violence
17 August 2020
Statement by Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith
The City of Cape Town's enforcement agencies have had another very busy week, reacting to incidents of public unrest in various parts of the city.
Our records indicate eight protest actions that resulted in three injuries to staff, 11 vehicles damaged and 25 arrests.
Since 11 July 2020, there have been 104 protest actions logged, with 46 injuries to staff, 32 government and private vehicles damaged and 84 arrests.
In the last week, there has been a slight downturn in the number of protests, but it continues eating away at our resources.
While costs can be attached to the infrastructural damage, the emotional and psychological toll on enforcement staff and the affected members of the public and business cannot be quantified.
The sustained unrest also means that we have fewer resources to go around and address other pressing crime and anti-social issues in many of our communities.
The focus on public unrest is unsustainable, and the City appeals to the criminal justice system to deal swiftly with cases brought before the courts for public violence. Effective prosecution is the only way in which we can bring a stop to the ever-increasing violence associated with protest action. We also appeal to the SAPS to do everything possible to track down the persons leading these violent protests.
The City also reiterates its call to members of the public who have information about these incidents to please report any information to the Public Emergency Communication Centre by dialling 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline. Information can be shared anonymously.
In other enforcement successes in the past week:
Metro Police officers arrested 28 people of which 19 were for drug related offences and issued 3 190 fines for various traffic and municipal bylaw offences. One of those arrested was for drunk driving as Metro Police officers were patrolling on the N2 on Friday, 14 August, when they came upon an accident in which the driver had driven over a ditch and collided with the concrete fence at the Cape Town International Airport. The 37-year-old driver, who reeked of alcohol, was arrested.
On Saturday, 15 August, officers were patrolling Fawley Court in Lavender Hill when they spotted two men change direction when they noticed the patrol vehicles. They searched the men and found 13 dagga stoppe and a half mandrax tablet. The 31 and 27-year-old suspects were arrested for the possession of drugs and detained at Steenberg police station.
On the same day, they attended to a robbery complaint and nabbed a man in possession of dagga. Officers were informed of two armed men robbing a house in Sunflower Crescent, Eersteriver. They patrolled the area trying to locate the suspects and went to a house in Desert Street, where they found a man packaging dagga. They confiscated 96 bankies of dagga, 10 dagga stoppe, 27 dagga cigarettes, a plastic bag with loose dagga and a Scale. The 21-year-old suspect was arrested for the possession of dagga. The robbers are still on the loose.
The department's K9 unit patrols known drug hiding places in the Milnerton area. Open area searches in Sheridan Street led K9s Zeke and Khalesi to give a positive indication of illegal substances. Zeke led the officers to five bankies of dagga, while K9 Khalesi found 35 small bankies of dagga and three medium bankies, all of which were booked in at the Milnerton police station as abandoned. In addition, K9 Savage found 16 bankies of dagga and 15 bankies of tik, which had been abandoned in an open area in King Edward and Louis Trichardt Streets in Parow.
Yesterday the Metro Police K9 Unit arrested a suspect for the possession of Tik in Milnerton. A driver was spotted talking on his cellphone while driving and when he was pulled over and asked for his driver’s license, the driver became fidgety and hid a packet under his T- shirt. A body search led to the discovery of a packet of Tik under his shirt with a weight of 209.84g and an estimated street value of R200 000. The 41-year-old man was arrested and detained at Maitland police station.
City Traffic Service officers arrested nine suspects, impounded 122 vehicles, 71 cell phones and issued 48 989 fines. Two of these arrests were for driving under the influence of alcohol and three for reckless driving.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
