CBD to get 24/7 traffic, law enforcement cops
THE CITY of Cape Town has revealed plans to expand City Traffic and Law Enforcement into a 24-hour operating service.
Yesterday, mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said his department was looking into adding 72 uniformed members to patrol the CBD around the clock.
Currently, the metro police department was the only directorate that operated on a 24-hour basis.
Smith said Law Enforcement operated on a limited 24-hour service through its Rapid Response Unit, which was designed to oversee security at City-owned premises such as clinics and libraries.
He said the City’s Traffic Service did not have a 24-hour service in the metro, apart from special operations overnight, such as focusing on illegal street racing and drunk driving.
“Crime levels and general adherence to the law continues to be of concern to us, as the enforcement statistics show week after week. When we look at the number of complaints that our enforcement agencies receive, Law Enforcement is by far the busiest, with hundreds of complaints a month, including issues of vagrancy, noise nuisances and complaints relating to animals. Thus there is a need to boost our capacity, especially after hours.”
The proposed expansion by the Safety and Security department could cost R6.85 million a year. Smith said the 48 existing Law Enforcement staff and 26 from Traffic Services would be split into teams to cover various parts of the metropole. He said he hoped the proposal would be approved to start in the next financial year, in April, should the budget allow for it.
Central City Improvement District spokesman Tasso Evangelinos said: “The City is becoming busier and busier; it needs services to support the needs of the private sector, especially at night and early morning when the entertainment businesses are booming.”
Siphesihle Dube, spokesman for Transport and Public Works MEC Donald Grant said: “Although we as the province have been running a 24-hour service for years we are happy City Traffic is joining in.”