The City of Cape Town has released its weekly enforcement operations statistics and its Public Emergency Communication Centre (PECC) received 154 assault calls over the weekend.
Traffic Services and Law Enforcement issued 71,202 fines and arrested a total of 215 suspects this past week.
A total of 1,995 calls for assistance which included 154 physical assault-related incidents, and 822 medical-related calls.
Of the assault-related cases included 16 gunshot-related cases and 66 domestic violence cases.
A further 52 motor vehicle and 20 pedestrian-vehicle accidents were recorded.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith raised his concerns at the number of assault cases recorded at the weekend.
“The number of assault cases recorded by our Public Emergency Communication Centre is worrying – call agents had to deal with 154 calls over the weekend. Although we expect an increase in assault cases during month-end weekends, the steep increase should be noted and is a concern. “It’s an indication of the level of violence in communities often triggered by alcohol abuse, gender-based violence and lack of respect.
“This behaviour often spills over to more serious crimes, such as driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding and theft. We also note the increase in domestic violence cases which has an extremely negative effect on households, especially those with innocent children,” Smith said.
He said officers can only act if they are informed about cases and urged residents to report any incident that poses a threat to the community.
On Saturday, February 24, Metro Police officers recovered drugs with an estimated street value of R15,000.
During weekly enforcement patrols, Traffic Services issued 66,971 fines of which 34,617 were for speeding offences and 32,354 for various other traffic offences.
Officers also executed 3,221 warrants of arrest and impounded 188 public transport vehicles.
Thirty-six arrests were made of which 24 suspects were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
During the past week, Law Enforcement conducted more than 690 enforcement operations, arrested 179 suspects and issued 4,231 fines.
Officers attached to the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap) arrested 172 suspects.
Any suspicious or criminal activity can be reported to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700 from a cell phone and 107 from a landline.
IOL