On the evening of Saturday, the 22nd of February, Law Enforcement officers on patrol in the CBD noticed a vehicle driving recklessly, weaving through traffic and disregarding a red traffic signal. With the officers deciding first to monitor the vehicle, the suspect became aware of the enforcement presence and tried to evade the members.
A high-speed chase followed through the streets of Cape Town, until the suspect was unable to escape the congestion. With a passenger jumping from the moving vehicle, the suspect fled on foot while their vehicle collided with another motor vehicle and a street pole. Officers pursued the suspect and arrested him. Back at the scene of the accident, officers discovered a range of electronic items inside the vehicle, which the suspect could offer no reasonable explanation for.
When Law Enforcement handed the suspect over to Cape Town Central SAPS, complainants came forward and identified their belongings which taken in a burglary in Higgovale.
The 34 year old male, residing in Delft, was charged with possession of stolen property, possession of housebreaking implements and resisting arrest.
With Cape Town Central SAPS reported as the police precinct with the highest rate of Property Related crime in the country, we deployed additional dedicated Law Enforcement officers to the precinct to assist SAPS in turning the crime trend around.
According to the data of SAPS recently released, the Cape Town Central police station precinct has seen a massive reduction of 26% in property related crime over the last quarter, thus confirming our call for increased policing resources across all of the city.
With outcomes like those in the Cape Town CBD, we are now duplicating the same efforts across the Wynberg, Bellville and Mitchells Plain Town Centre CBDs.
Business areas are a valuable source of job creation and play a vital role in reducing crime by preventing an increase in unemployment, where poverty forces some into a life of crime.
Our efforts to support of SAPS with additional Law Enforcement will continue, as we combat crime in our city.