The holiday season in Cape Town was filled with unexpected challenges as firefighters and law enforcement officials battled against a surge of firerelated incidents. The fires were not only limited to rural areas, but also engulfed urban regions. The City’s law enforcement agencies were also burdened with upholding the law, making numerous arrests and issuing fines for traffic and bylaw violations. Despite the efforts of public servants, it is crucial for the public to play their part in ensuring a safe holiday season.
The city’s efforts to combat drugrelated crimes have been showing promising results in recent weeks. City enforcement services attribute their success to the valuable support they have received from the public. Through the cooperation of concerned citizens, law enforcement officers have been able to make impressive busts, including a significant seizure of dagga from a couch in Manenberg.
The City of Cape Town’s waste removal staff is facing violent threats and extortion attempts while delivering services in the Kosovo informal settlement and the surrounding Philippi East area. Despite the challenges, the City’s frontline delivery staff continues to provide doortodoor waste collection, area cleaning services, and waste disposal shipping containers.
Over the recent long weekend, Gauteng police conducted operations and routine stop and search checks that led to the apprehension of more than 1,700 suspects and the seizure of 65 unlicensed firearms. These arrests were made in different parts of the province, with the perpetrators charged with serious and violent crimes.
The Easter weekend is a time of heightened activity and vigilance for law enforcement services in Cape Town. This year, the City’s law enforcement officers made 361 arrests, up from 332 in 2022, and issued 72,465 fines for various offences. The increase in arrests weekonweek, but also compared to the week of Easter last year, speaks to the efforts of staff when many of us were enjoying some downtime.