Cape Town to be boosted with R535m injection into safety and security

The City of Cape Town will, in the 2019/2020 financial year, inject R535-million in the safety and security directorate. This, Dan Plato believes, will go a long way in addressing high levels of crime in communities.

As reported by EWN, the announcement was made by the Cape Town mayor on Tuesday. Plato revealed that the city budget has been finalised and will be tabled at the provincial government's first council sitting, on Wednesday.

Related: Businesses may soon be allowed to generate power for the grid

What will City of Cape Town security budget cover?Plato revealed that the scourge of crime in Cape Town has to be addressed head-on.

CCTV CamerasAccording to the mayor, the budget will allow for the installation of CCTV cameras. Although, it hasn't been specified if these security upgrades will be affected in other areas besides the CBD.

New fleet, more budget for recruitmentPlato further stated that the money will be used to bring in a fleet of new vehicles and equipment for law enforcement. Moreover, it will also allow for the recruitment of more staff.

A law enforcement officer in every wardIn addressing shortages of law enforcement presence in the metro, the mayor announced that the safety and security directorate will deploy at least one law enforcement officer to each of the 116 wards in Cape Town.

Once [the budget is] adopted, we will be able to forge ahead with plans to deploy one dedicated law enforcement officer to each of our 116 wards in the city. This will be in addition to the existing 100 extra offices we are deploying in the neighbourhood safety team in Bonteheuwel, Valhalla Park and Bishop Lavis, Plato revealed.

Related: Cape Town solar panel registration deadline set for 31 May

When will all of this be implemented?For the City, this is a way to maintain a presence and ensure cohesive policing of communities, in collaboration with neighbourhood watches and community policing forums.

However, it could be a while before all of this is implemented. Plato revealed that the deployment of these plans could be seen from as early as December.

Tags: BudgetCape Townpublic safetySouth Africa

LINK:	https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/cape-town-boosted-r535m-injection...
	See more stories from thesouthafrican

Most recent headlines