Paarl Post first reported on Drakenstein Municipality’s law-enforcement officers in April 2022, and in the article various entities such as Paarl Community Policing Forum (CPF), the Wellington Taxpayers’ Association (WTA) and individual residents declared they were not delivering a good service.
For a follow-up article to “Wetstoepassing word bekyk” published on 21 April, Paarl Post reached out to Drakenstein Municipality to find out what the job description of the Drakenstein Municipality’s law enforcement officers is, and how they are faring in their positions.
According to the article the issues entities and individuals were unhappy about include “allegations of homeless people or street sleepers in Wellington, who are constantly causing trouble, to the Berg River saga, defecating in the streets near businesses or just plain disorder everywhere.”
Another issue, raised in Paarl Post of 9 November, is recent armed robberies that occurred in Paarl’s central business district (CBD), where more than seven business had been targeted over the previous two months in Lady Grey Street.
Law enforcement does regular patrols in and around the CBD, but this has not stopped robbers targeting businesses.
According Eda Barnard, Executive Director of Public Safety at Drakenstein Municipality there are currently 24 permanent law-enforcement officers and 18 law-enforcement advancement-plan (LEAP) officers through an agreement with the Western Cape government, and who are employed mainly for the purpose of enforcing bylaws.
“To qualify as a law-enforcement officer individuals must have a Grade-12 qualification, a clean criminal record and training as a peace officer, with the [in house] training duration lasting one month,” Barnard said.
The municipality did not respond to the question about what the particular training entails.
The law-enforcement officers work Monday to Wednesday from 06:30 to 22:00, Thursdays to Fridays 06:30 to 03:00, Saturdays 07:00 to 03:00 and Sundays: 08:00 to 03:00
Although it is a step up from the times they patrolled during April 2022, which included Mondays to Fridays 07:30 to 22:00, Saturdays from 07:00 to 21:30 and Sundays from 08:00 to 21:00, the question of why they are not working more shifts, especially early mornings when criminal activity increases, remains.
The law-enforcement officers are employed in Simondium, Paarl, Wellington, Gouda and Saron, but it also remains unclear where exactly in these areas they patrol.
The following burning questions were also sent out by Paarl Post, but remain unanswered: . How do the law-enforcement officers enforce municipal bylaws?. How many fines do the law-enforcement officers hand out on a monthly basis on average?. Are the recipients of the fines ever held responsible for paying a fine or appearing in the municipal court? . How many municipal court cases of residents violating these bylaws are heard every month?
