The City of Cape Town has asked people to stop “repackaging” and forwarding old videos of smash and grab incidents on social media as it causes unnecessary panic.
This after a 41-second video of two smashes and grab incidents along Jakes Gerwel Drive at Langa started making the rounds this week.
Bonteheuwel Ward councillor, Angus Mckenzie, confirmed the footage was of an older incident and says the video had people panicking.
He says they have neighbourhood watch volunteers who have been working in 12-hour shifts since December to keep people safe at crime hotspots on Jakes Gerwel Drive.
“We have volunteers working 12-hour shifts at this intersection. These videos are old.
“I’ve specifically put them on Langa side because we didn’t have the issue on the Bonteheuwel side,” Mckenzie says.
Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says they are experiencing a trend where members of the public are fabricating news by using old videos and images.
He says the video showing two smashes and grab incidents along Jakes Gerwel Drive was released by the Metro Police years ago for an awareness campaign.
“This footage is more than 7 years old. It was released from Metro Police offices via the Safety Lab in 2012 for public education and awareness.
“It was also on YouTube. So what happens is, people download the footage on YouTube and “repackage” it and try and make it their own.
“This awareness project assisted with bringing down smash and grab incidents in 2012/3.
“We are picking up false info like this daily.”