HOT SHOTS:
BUFFALO CITY RESORTS TO CRIME TIME VIEWING
BUFFALO City Metro executive mayor Xola Pakathi launched the CCTV control room at the Fleet Street Fire Station in Quigney this week.
The launch ran concurrently with the introduction and distribution of certificates to the new traffic and law enforcement officers.
Pakathi said Buffalo City has not been immune to the plight of unemployment, particularly amongthe youth, saying they took a decision to address the predicament.
“Today is a testament that we are indeed a city hard at work and we intend on fulfilling the plea made by our people to address the challenge of unemployment,” he said of the graduating officers.
The cameras were obtained at a cost of R1.8-million.
He further called for a collective approach in fighting crime in the metro where municipality and the policework together in an attempt to combat crime.
“Crime remains disturbingly high in our country and there is just no single cause for it. There is no single solution to it [either]. We need to develop coherent programmes to prevent and respond to crime and violence,” Pakathi said.
The control room is run by BCM law enforcement officers who immediately alert other officials who will be working out of site as soon as they see crime being committed.
CCTV cameras are fully functional at the East London CBD, Esplanade and Mdantsane Highway.
Portfolio councillor Amanda Mnyute said they know why the CCTV cameras that were installed at the beachfront stopped working and they have rectified their mistakes now and are confident they will be functional all the time now.
“The first time, we failed because we had no maintenance plan but now we do. We are also in the process of installing the cameras at all the [crime] hotspots around town. Everything is almost done,” she said.
With the high rate of women being killed, Pakathi said the installation of the cameras could not have come at better time. However more still needs to done in order to address the issue of crime in the city that seems to be spiralling out of control.
“We need to encourage the involvement of communities in the fight against crime, we owe it to the constitution of South Africa.”