City of Cape Town concerned over spike in trauma cases

The City of Cape Town has raised its concern as it sees a spike in trauma and assault cases reported via the City’s Emergency Communication Centre (PECC), week-on-week.

It said the spikes, unsurprisingly, coincide with public holidays and payday weekends.

According to the mayoral committee member for safety and security, Alderman JP Smith, a cursory glance at the comparative weekend statistics recorded by the PECC shows not only an increase in overall incidents but also an increase in assaults, domestic violence calls and road accidents involving motor vehicles and pedestrians.

From September 23 until 25, a total of 1 870 compared to the previous weekend when a total of 1 724 incidents were reported.

This past weekend, 177 cases of assault were reported, 34 domestic violence incidents, 49 motor vehicle accidents and 15 pedestrian/motor vehicle accidents were reported.

“We tend to see an increase in these categories as we near month-end, so the statistics are sadly not surprising.

“However, it’s disappointing and once again highlights the relationship between trauma cases and alcohol consumption.

“It’s important to note that this is likely not the complete picture, as some cases might be reported to other entities, and then, of course, there are cases that go completely unreported, for various reasons,” Smith said.

Over the past week, the City’s Law Enforcement officers made 137 arrests for various offences, including possession of drugs, firearms, imitation firearms and other dangerous weapons.

Officers issued 3 541 notices for various by-law offences.

Traffic Services recorded a total of 38 052 offences and issued 30 721 fines for various traffic violations.

A total of 106 public transport vehicles were impounded, and 1 575 warrants of arrest were executed.

Of the 41 arrests made, traffic officers arrested 36 people for driving under the influence of alcohol and five for reckless and negligent driving.

Traffic officers also issued 413 fines for various offences in terms of the National Road Traffic Act and arrested four suspects for attempted robbery.

“Many of the City’s enforcement successes are the result of either tip-offs from the public or a visible enforcement presence.

“It underscores the importance of boots on the ground because it not only means quick turnaround times and catching perpetrators in the act, but it increases the level of trust between communities and enforcement services, which in turn increases the number of tips that are relayed,” Smith added.

-IOL

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