The City of Cape Town (COCT) says Law Enforcement have confiscated a substantial amount of alcohol at beaches and other public spaces this festive season.
According to COCT, Law Enforcement officials have confiscated 8 699 bottles of alcohol, amounting to 4 786,66 litres. The bulk of the confiscations happened on Boxing Day, 2 315 bottles and on New Year’s Day, 1 206 bottles.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith said removing the alcohol through impounding is no mean feat as many people become riotous or refuse to cooperate.
“I want to remind the public that every litre of alcohol confiscated is potentially one fewer person driving drunk, or swimming drunk, or getting involved in a fight or an accident or hurting someone else,” Smith said.
Smith further explained that the weather on New Year’s Day was the biggest contributing factor, as COCT beaches were not nearly as busy as they might have been otherwise.
Also read: Busy festive period for COCT lifeguards
Meanwhile, the Western Cape’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) confirmed that from December 1 until January 2 the EMS attended to 43 600 medical-related incidents, 11 453 trauma cases, 1 973 road traffic incidents, and 204 fires in the province.
According to the EMS, a total of 6 479 inter-facility transport trips were also made to ensure that clients received the care they needed in a time-efficient and safe manner.
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Picture: Twitter/ SAPS