Gang violence is an ongoing concern in the community of Parkwood and a series of organised marches have taken place last year to take a stand against gang-related activity.
But residents are still having to bear the brunt of this violence, and their service delivery has suffered as a result after being left in the dark due to gangs interrupting the work of the City who were called to attend to a power outage.
According to IOL, City engineers and law enforcement teams were in the area on Sunday night to fix the fault, but had to withdraw after multiple gunshots were fired. Teams resumed their work on Monday morning and finally restored the power.
The City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Directorate said during the past week, Law Enforcement officers made 79 arrests and issued 4 596 notices, while officers in the Metro Police Department made 67 arrests and issued 4 541 traffic and by-law fines.
Officers attached to the Traffic Service arrested 31 suspects (21 for driving under the influence of alcohol) and impounded 102 vehicles, 80 cell phones and issued 62 125 fines.
The City has also encouraged volunteers from the former Walking Bus volunteer project in the City of Cape Town to apply to its newest law enforcement unit.
The new community safety unit is to be established by the middle of the year, and aims to give qualified applicants better security training and equipment, and a broader scope of duties in the community.
“These teams will specifically help in protecting service delivery crews in identified crime hotspots across the city. These teams include water, fire, electricity, sanitation and cleansing crews who face danger and violence while trying to do their jobs to improve service delivery in communities,” a statement notes.
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City’s Fire and Rescue Service responded to more than 400 incidents over the weekend
Picture: Supplied
