As motorists increasingly turn to social media sites like Twitter and PigSpotter to help others evade roadblocks and speed traps, police in Durban are finding new ways of catching the culprits.
Metro police spokesman Senior Superintendent Eugene Msomi said they were now making use of roving roadblocks – small groups of police kept on the move to outwit would-be evaders.
“The problem of motorists giving tip-offs about the location of enforcement operations is very common and has been around before social media,” he said.
Msomi said drivers had long flashed their lights to warn others of traps and roadblocks, something law enforcement officers strongly discouraged, although he noted there was “unfortunately” no law against this.
He promised more roadblocks throughout the festive season.
“This past long weekend, our operations went very well where we arrested a total number of 84 drivers for being under the influence of alcohol,” said Msomi.
Meanwhile, criminals in KwaZulu-Natal have been warned that the SAPS is gearing up for the festive season.
“Teams will be in place to be quickly dispatched to crime scenes, so criminals should not expect mercy,” said provincial police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker.
The SAPS crime intelligence unit was gathering intelligence on known individuals. The unit played a vital role during the season with proactive intelligence to assist police on the ground.
To ensure there were no loopholes in the police’s provincial operational plan, Naicker said, they had invited input from all clusters and stations.
Metro police, the SANDF and the Road Traffic Inspectorate would also feature prominently in the festive season operational plan.
The provincial commissioner had sent directives to every police station to be saturated with every police member available.
“Commanders have been asked to tailor the leave schedule so they go on leave before and after the peak period. Only a minimal number of members will be granted vacation leave over this period.”
Naicker said daily deployments and operations were monitored from a joint operational centre around the clock.
He said auxiliary garages had been tasked to expedite the repairs and services of vehicles to ensure sufficient transport for members to respond to complaints and to at all times maintain a high police visibility.
He appealed to parents to take care of their children over the season, saying that with schools closed police found children on the streets, left to their own devices.
“This poses a multitude of problems for police and keeps our hands full. It is especially disturbing to find that parents deliberately abandon their children on our beaches so that they can enjoy themselves in the belief that we will find their children and take care of them,” he said
Naicker said the vigilance of the community remained the key to fighting crime.
“We urge residents to be the eyes and ears of the police and to report all suspicious activities,” he said.