26 January 2006
Western Cape MEC for Community Safety, L Ramatlakane, has praised the South
African Police (SAPS), the Bambanani Volunteers, metro and municipal police,
provincial traffic and all law enforcement agencies who put in many hours of
work to bring down crime during the 2005/06 festive season.
MEC Ramatlakane was commenting on the release of a report by the Department
of Community Safety on the achievement of its annual safer festive season
anti-crime programme.
This programme has now been running for the past three years. The report
shows that as a result of the partnership between the police, the Bambanani
volunteers and other law enforcement agencies, crime in the Western Cape
declined by 27 percent (27,2 percent) during the festive season.
During the 2003/04 festive season when the programme was first rolled out,
crime came down by 18 percent. The following year crime was stabilised by two
percent. Meanwhile, the Western Cape Arrive Alive Campaign which was part of
the safer festive season programme was responsible for an eight percent drop in
fatalities.
"Premier Rasool gave us a target to bring down crime by seven percent and
road fatalities by five percent during the 2005/06 festive season. Our report
shows that a great deal of work was put in by our volunteers, police and
everyone," said MEC Ramatlakane.
"We owe this success to the many hours (1 556 618) of extra work put by our
4 560 Bambanani volunteers, the thousands of policemen and women and the 1 500
metro police officers who all partnered in the fight against crime," said MEC
Ramatlakane.
"When we first mooted this programme with the police, we had expected to see
its positive signs after only four years. Then we agreed that police alone
cannot win the fight against crime."
"We agreed that communities are a major partner in the fight against crime,
because crime is committed by members of communities. Today we walk tall and
can say that the province of the Western Cape is gradually proving to be a
safer place to be during the festive season," said MEC Ramatlakane.
Commenting on the decrease in road fatalities MEC Ramatlakane said, "This
past festive season we have recorded a historic achievement in that for the
entire period there was only one accident where many people were killed at
once. This happened when a minibus taxi collided with a truck on the N1 near
Laingsburg killing eight people."
"This to us confirms that our motorists and in particular those of public
mode of transport because they carry with them many people at a time, are now
listening and are heeding our message of working to ensure safety and reduce
fatalities on the roads."
"Now we have a challenge of addressing the number of pedestrians killed on
our roads who not only provincially, but nationally, is a huge concern as it
constitutes the highest number of fatalities. We shall have to go to
communities start education and make people aware on the dangers of j-walking,"
said MEC Ramatlakane.
MEC Ramatlakane also added that this past festive season, the Department's
Child Rapid Response Unit has achieved a 94 percent success in searching for
and finding missing children. The unit was only set up in October last year and
to date it has received calls to locate and find 85 missing children. Eighty
one of those children were found and were reunited with their families. Two
were found dead and another two are still missing.
NB: Copies of the executive summary report on the safer festive season
programme are available on request.
Enquiries:
Makhaya Mani
Media Liaison Officer
Tel: (021) 483 3873
Issued by: Department of Community Safety, Western Cape Provincial
Government
26 January 2006
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government (http://www.capegateway.gov.za)
