Closed-circuit television (CCTV) along Voortrekker Road play a vital role in solving crime. This was one of the points highlighted at the Subcouncil 4 Safety Forum Meeting held on Thursday afternoon last week at the Parow Council Chambers by Supt Kevin Cole of the City’s metro police service.
Subcouncil 4 consists of four wards that covers the areas of Parow Valley, Goodwood, Ravensmead, Elsies River, Uitsig, Epping Industria and surrounds.
Cole said at the meeting the CCTV cameras along Voortrekker Road play an important role in crime investigation. “We do get police detectives visiting our centre regularly. Goodwood police stand out, maybe its because of the number of cameras along Voortrekker Road in their area, but also Elsies River and Parow police visit the centre to request footage all the time. We will continue to support them and supply them with footage.”
He says the footage they supply is often positive and can be used as evidence in court.
“We do know that things break sometimes, often the cameras are off, but we can assure you our maintenance team are always on board and they do repairs regularly.”
He says as a centre they are very strict when it comes to individuals or institutions requesting footage. “We have a process we follow.”
Cole also told the meeting that the public and insurance companies are required to follow this process if they want to view any footage for claims purposes.
Franchesca Walker, Subcouncil 4 chair, asked that a list be drawn up of all of the active cameras in the Subcouncil and provided to them at the next meeting. She says her concerns are the hot-spot areas which includes Francie van Zijl Drive and Norwood Road, and 35th Avenue and Owen Road in Elsies River.
Animal Control
Inspector Llewelyn Grove of the City of Cape Town’s Animal Control Unit (ACU) also presented a report. He says over the past 100 days their unit has received 177 complaints logged with the City from across Subcouncil 4. These include complaints relating to stray live stock, barking dogs, dangerous and vicious dogs and cruelty to animals. The complaints were received between 28 April to Wednesday 6 August when his report was compiled, he says.
Reference was also made at the meeting to the recent successful operation conducted in Goodwood where the police, the Department of Home Affairs, local neighbourhood watch structures and several other role-players in safety and security managed to execute 14 arrests. Those arrested were undocumented people and one person who operated a problem building and harboured undocumented people, the meeting heard.
Walker thanked those who supported the operation, but says they were short staffed on the day. She mentioned that as a Subcouncil they should not wait too long to plan another such operation and that they should keep the momentum going.
Crime
Lt Col CS Kindo, Elsies River Police Station acting commander, also briefed the meeting on the crime in their area. He says Elsies River is struggling at the moment with several shooting incidents taking place in the area, including Epping Forrest, The Range and the Avonwood area. Kindo says two to three months ago Clarke Estate used to be the area that stood out, but that this had changed. He says robberies in the community are a big concern for the police.
“There is an ongoing trend with smash-and-grabs happening on a daily basis and its the same hot-spots as before near Avonwood, and now also Epping Avenue. We have deployed law enforcement to the area, but this is an ongoing crime taking place day to day, whether in the morning or afternoon and even up to late at night. It is dark sometimes, but they still continue. This is a huge challenge for us. These criminals are flexible. They see the police vehicle and move along, and if the vehicle is static nothing happens,” he says.
Kindo says there has been a slight decline in these crimes, but that it will remain their main focus.
