The City of Cape Town’s Metro Police Department gave its hard-working K9 Unit an early morning breather, when handlers and dogs went on a walk in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
The initiative aims to give the K9s a change of pace from their daily duties that have seen them play an instrumental role in effecting 200 drug-related arrests between July 2021 and October 2022.
Read: Visible presence of law enforcement leads to hundreds of arrests in Cape Town CBD
During this time, they also racked up 535 autonomous and integrated operations, as well as school searches and education and awareness displays.
“We are very grateful to the management of Kirstenbosch Gardens for facilitating this special opportunity for our K9s and their handlers,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith.
“This is the second such outing for the team, and we hope to make it a regular excursion, particularly for the canines. They serve this city so diligently, and it is important that we invest in their overall health and well-being too, beyond just the day-to-day care,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
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Between July and September, a dedicated team of 100 officers made 185 arrests and issued 5 011 fines for traffic and by-law offences in the CBD alone in an effort to address an alarming increase in crime over the preceding three month period.
The deployment came just as crime statistics between April and June showed an increase in a number of categories reported to the Cape Town Central police station.
Between 5 September and 2 October, Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers also continued to make steady strides in removing criminals off the streets, in crime hotspots, arresting 553 persons for various crimes.
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Photos: Supplied