'Don’t even think about drinking and driving’
More than 5000 municipal safety officers - including undercover police - will be deployed across the city to keep the public safe this festive season, says mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
Cape Town would not be a welcome place for drunk drivers and others who broke the law, Mr Hill-Lewis said at the Table View beachfront on Wednesday last week during the launch of the City’s safety deployment for the festive season.
“Don't even think about drinking and driving this festive season. Please, don’t even try it. You will get caught and consequences will be severe,” he said.
“We will, in all of the popular visited areas, have roadblocks, every single day, spread across Cape Town during this festive season.”
The City would rope in Law Enforcement trainee cadets to deploy more than 5000 safety officers for the festive season.
“We want every person who lives and visits Cape Town to feel entirely safe and secure and have a wonderful time and focus on the joy of the festive season while they are in Cape Town,” said Mr Hill-Lewis.
From the trails of Table Mountain to the beaches, roads, shopping precincts and business districts, the public could expect high-visibility policing at tourism hot spots with some officers deployed in plain clothes, he said.
“As part of our major safety technology investment, our safety operations will integrate cutting-edge camera tech, including automatic number-plate recognition, smart dash-cam systems, body cameras on officers, drones patrolling the mountain and beaches, and Africa’s largest CCTV network.”
Officers would crack down on alcohol consumption and antisocial behaviour in public areas, and vehicle checks would be standard on main roads to beaches.
Volunteers from the Fire and Rescue Service, Law Enforcement and Disaster Risk Management would help with public safety and awareness.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said the City was making every effort to ensure that all law-abiding residents and tourists had a safe and happy holiday season.
“One of our greatest problems is still alcohol abuse, especially on our roadways and in our parks. The City's by-laws are rather explicit on the matter, and our employees will not think twice about taking action,” he said.
