The City of Cape Town is ramping up law enforcement to increase safety and boost economic activity in key CBDs, with a special 50-strong policing deployment dedicated to Bellville, Mitchells Plain, and Wynberg. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis on Tuesday joined an integrated policing operation in Bellville CBD together with Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.
The Bellville CBD has received a boost of 18 dedicated officers, with a further 32 officers split between Mitchells Plain Town Centre and Wynberg CBD.
These officers are in addition to the existing general deployment of Area Law Enforcement, Traffic and Metro Police in each area. This latest expansion to more CBDs follows the City’s successful deployment of 100 Law Enforcement officers to Cape Town’s main CBD since July 2022, with over 1 800 arrests made in the 2023/24 financial year, 30% of these drug-related.
‘We are crowding dedicated policing resources into key CBDs as part of efforts to make Cape Town safer and boost economic activity. The 150 dedicated officers across the City Bowl, Bellville, Mitchells Plain, and Wynberg are already on the ground, working to make it safer for both residents and businesses.
‘During this morning’s integrated operation in Bellville, I was pleased to hear that our bolstered policing operations led to 39 arrests – over 50% of these drug-related – during June, the first full month of the new dedicated deployment,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
‘Our dedicated resources are developing detailed knowledge of the local challenges in each CBD, which will up the overall quality and efficiency of our policing operations. For communities, it is an opportunity to establish relationships, and trust, with the uniformed services working in their area for the benefit of all,’ said Alderman JP Smith.
Highlights from overall City policing operations for Bellville CBD in June include:
· 39 arrests including 20 drug-related arrests
· 403 searches of vehicles and persons
· 351 fines issued for parking offences
· 57 fines issued for transgressing informal trading and hawking by-laws
In total, the City has deployed an additional 26 Law Enforcement officers and 24 Metro Police officers across the three CBD’s in Bellville, Mitchells Plain, and Wynberg.
