Metal theft arrests increase by nearly 50%
12 March 2022
The City’s Metal Theft Unit continues to make inroads against metal theft, but it’s an uphill battle that requires intervention at a national level to take the shine off scrap metal.
The City’s Metal Theft Unit continues to see an increase in the number of arrests, and confiscations related to the theft and vandalism of critical infrastructure.
In the first six months of the current financial year (July to December 2021), the unit made 132 arrests compared to 91 during the same period the year before.
This represents a 45% increase year-on-year.
| | JULY – DECEMBER 2020 | JULY – DECEMBER 2021 |
| Arrests | 91 | 132 |
| Fines | 2 553 | 1 736 |
| Operations | 274 | 204 |
| Scrapyard inspections | 1 012 | 1 096 |
| Impoundments | 201.5kg copper cables 1 x drain cover 39 pandora clips (rail infrastructure) 209m copper cable 74 paving bricks 30m railway signal cable 90kg PRASA signalling cable 110 pieces of catenary copper wire 620kg insulated copper wire 23.15kg overhead catenary wire 40 pendral springs 37 screws 24 bolts and 18 nuts 31 rail chairs 13 brackets 30kg burnt copper cable 35 buzz bars 1 x 1000KVA transformer | 289m copper cable 7 x pieces of municipal fencing 2 x copper cable rolls 1 x bundle burned cable 5kg burned cable 1 x gully grid 40.5kg overhead cable 4 x 1m PRASA Pandora clips 3 x streetlight covers 10 x bundles PRASA aluminium tiger wire 6 x bundles cable wire 10 x bundles of cable 2 pieces of streetlight infrastructure 4 electrical circuit breakers 11 bundles of copper cable 7 LED streetlights 500kg railway springs 1 x Mass pole (PRASA) 10m PRASA cable 1 x 265kg copper wire 1 floodlight 1 mass pole 1 x 185mm pieces of cable 5 rolls of stripped copper cable (49kg) 8.5m streetlight cable |
‘The Metal Theft Unit must be lauded for their sterling work under often very trying circumstances. Cable thieves operate under the cover of darkness and often in open fields or other places where the rest of us would hesitate to tread. So one appreciates the efforts of our staff, but at the same time the arrest and confiscation rate is also extremely disappointing as it simply underscores once more that metal theft remains one of our biggest challenges.
Metal Theft Unit
Metal Theft Unit
Metal Theft Unit
‘The situation was exacerbated by the national lockdown, when a lot of infrastructure was left unattended and became easy pickings for criminals. Load-shedding is also a factor, where areas are not only left in darkness, but there is no power supply to deter criminals from tampering with infrastructure. And, while most incidents are likely opportunistic in nature, one cannot discount the possibility that there is an element of organised crime involved, particularly around the theft of infrastructure that can be sold as scrap metal. We need urgent intervention at national level to reduce the demand for scrap metal, else we will never make our way out of this ever deepening rabbit hole,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
Members of the public are urged to report any incidents of vandalism or theft of municipal infrastructure to the City’s call centre, by dialing 0860 103 089, or logging these incidents via the City’s e-services portal.
In the event of a crime of vandalism and/or theft in progress, or where public safety is at risk, residents are encouraged to report it to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre by dialing 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
