The first of these were launched in Langa on 27 May by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, and Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith, with more to follow in the northern suburbs of Cape Town.
The campaign highlights the 12-year prison sentence handed to a metal thief in September 2023 following his arrest by City Law Enforcement’s Metals-theft Unit, also known as the “Copperheads”.
Copperheads’ successes
City police responsiveness
“We appeal to scrapyards, instead of buying the stolen cable, to keep the thief there,” said Smith, “and we will pay them a far greater reward than they would get from selling our stolen cable. The scale of the problem tells us we are not dealing with just small operators, but rather highly organised syndicates targeting our critical infrastructure. The City is throwing many resources at this problem, but we definitely need to see national reforms to turn the screws on the illicit scrap-metal trade.”
“In some parts of the City repaired street-light poles are suffering repeat cable theft almost immediately, which is why we need the public to help us catch and convict cable thieves. Working together, we can keep the lights on. Our residents can help by adopting the infrastructure in their neighbourhoods and alerting us to suspicious activity such as theft, vandalism and illegal connections.”
The toll-free hotline 0800 110077 is linked to a rewards system for tip-offs leading to the arrest and conviction of cable thieves.
