CCTV operators instrumental in firearm busts in Cape Town

City enforcement agencies had a hand in recovering at least 10 firearms in the past week – five incidents happened in the space of 24 hours this past weekend. However, it was CCTV operators who got the week off to an impressive start, detecting two incidents in Athlone on the same day.

‘These confiscations are bittersweet. While it shows, once more, the benefits of our continued investment in technology, as well as visible and responsive policing, it is a stark reminder of how deeply rooted gun violence is in our city. The near daily confiscations should not be discounted, because it potentially means fewer lives lost, but until firearm supply chains are dismantled, it feels like a case of two steps forward, three steps back.

‘I have called on SAPS to institute shutdowns of gang areas, which the City will support with as many resources as possible, so that we can make meaningful dents in the firearm and narcotics trades in these communities,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.