Gauteng intensifies deployment of Law Enforcement officers ahead of Easter season
The Gauteng Law Enforcement Agencies has developed an integrated law enforcement plan that aim to contribute to the reduction of both road traffic fatalities and crime in general during the Easter Long Weekend. The Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane accompanied by senior officials from the Law Enforcement Agencies, will lead a series of heightened law enforcement activities which will be carried out in a vigorous manner across the province especially at identified freeways and hotspots in the province.
Easter weekend is usually characterized by high traffic volumes to various pilgrimage, holiday destinations and the MEC will use the platform to interact with drivers and commuters on crime and road safety issues ahead of the Easter season.
“The Law Enforcement Agencies have been deployed in most parts of the province to deal with lawlessness during the Easter weekend. We will further complement enforcement initiatives this Easter season by the deploying community patrollers at identified public transport hub to provide help and support to the general travelling public. We have in recent times experienced serious forms of dangerous driving such as reckless and negligent driving, disregard to traffic signals and passengers overloading due to the rush to make profit especially during the Easter season.
Easter 2017 saw Gauteng record a 57% increase in road fatalities with 38 people losing their lives on our roads. What is of concern is that pedestrians made up a high number of these fatalities. While the focus is on road safety, we cannot disregard criminal elements that continue to rise during this season. Some of the crime increases can be attributed to the abuse of alcohol and drugs.
We have added an additional 1 266 police personnel as part of strengthening our capacity and 859 high performance vehicles to improve police response and visibility. The vehicles have been fitted with latest technology including trackers, registration number plate recognition.
I am confident that our Law enforcement officers will work tirelessly to reduce road fatalities and combat crime. I call upon the Law Enforcement Authorities to act decisively in dealing with drivers who doesn’t comply with the rules of the road and appeal to road users to be vigilant, patient and to adhere to the rules of the road to save the lives of passengers,” said MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane.
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