Visitors to the Mother City’s favourite tourism spots can rest a bit easier this festive season with over 600 more safety officers being deployed to keep Cape Town safe.
With 300 law enforcement officers being deployed to beaches and an 80-strong team in the CBD, the City said its largest-ever seasonal safety deployment was out in full force.
The task force will be on duty at various beaches, in the City Bowl and along Table Mountain.
It comes as 250 tourism monitors are also deployed across the province in an investment announced by Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille, in which R174.5 million was budgeted to train and hire over 2 200 youths across the country over the current financial year.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says in addition, nearly 1 300 officers, funded in partnership with the Western Cape government, also continued to work every day in gang and drug hotspots over December.
The Mayor says: “We are investing in making Cape Town safer, by growing our municipal policing resources to become a much more powerful, smart crime-fighting force, despite having only a fraction of the resources of the SAPS.
“We also continue to support SANParks’ efforts to keep hikers and runners safe.”
SANParks says since the start of its festive season campaign, involving the City and SAPS in its Table Mountain Safety and Security Forum, it has managed to arrest several suspects.
The latest arrest was on Lion’s Head, during which Sea, Air, and Mountain special operations rangers and their canine unit, alongside the City’s Tourism Unit, conducted a sting operation.
SANParks says the City provided valuable support while police promptly arrived to assist in making arrests.
A SANParks statement says: “This success shows the valuable role of the Intel Interpretation team of the Table Mountain National Park’s Operations Room, who played a critical role in developing this joint operation which was tried and tested for many months and has resulted in successful apprehension of the suspects.
“This also marks a significant milestone in ensuring the safety of park visitors, underscoring the effectiveness of collaborative law enforcement efforts by the newly re-established Table Mountain Safety Forum.
“We continue to emphasise the importance of collective vigilance and cooperation in upholding the safety on the mountain.”