Cape Town - The greater Goodwood area is set to get six more CCTV cameras, to be installed in high-crime areas.
The district has been grappling with metal and steel theft, the destruction of rail infrastructure and business robberies. Currently, it has 17 cameras.
Metro Police Department spokesperson Ruth Solomons said the R5-million project is earmarked for the new financial year, which runs from July 1 until June 30 next year.
She said the department was waiting for confirmation of equipment rates, as they also needed to factor in the cost of civil works for fibre installations, equipment in the control centre to view the cameras, and recording equipment to review footage. She said the cameras would be monitored by the City.
Neighbourhood watch chairperson Leona Van Wyk said among crimes reported were common robberies and aggravated robberies, mostly in the Voortrekker Road corridor. She said house break-ins also took place in some areas.
Van Wyk said crime figures were reasonably stable. However, the crime problem was being aggravated by opportunists, who infiltrated the area disguised as homeless vagrants.
“The Goodwood Prison is also close by and, once released after doing full time, this is one of the most convenient places to stay if there is no fixed address to go to, or the family does not want them back,” she said.
Goodwood Ratepayers' and Residents' Association chairperson Faizel Petersen welcomed the initiative and said more value-added services were required to accompany it.
Petersen said the rollout of additional cameras would extend coverage in the area.
“Many incidents happen under the view of the CCTV operators, monitored by an outsourced security company, and we do not see regular responses by law enforcement to such incidents in Goodwood.
“Regular by-law infringements occur – like the illegal taxi rank [on the corner of] Jakes Gerwel and Voortrekker Road, illegal gatherings, [and] smash and grabs – and these [by-laws] are not actively enforced,” he said.
Petersen said many victims do not report thefts because of what they saw as a lack of action, and said they were also discouraged by officers from opening criminal cases.
He said there was a communication gap between neighbourhood watch groups on the ground and the City’s control room to pro-actively fight crime.
“The CCTV cameras should help in preventing incidents from happening in the first place,” he said.