Durban – eThekwini metro police have hailed the metro for returning CCTV camera control centre back under police control.
Metro police deputy head, Sibonelo Mchunu, said it was a wise and long overdue decision by the municipal manager Musa Mbhele, adding that the decision would go a long way in eradicating crime in the city.
He said the decision will assist police to monitor those who violate the City’s by-laws, and use the footage to prosecute them as well responding to criminal incidents live and as it happens. The centre was once under the metro police but was moved and placed under the control of the City’s disaster management centre.
Mchunu said plans are afoot already, since the decision was taken to work with crime intelligence to profile certain persons of interests and monitor their turf for the purposes of combating the drug trade.
Mchunu said accident hotspots like Sandile Thusi and M4 North, the M4 interchange where motorists are harassed by “whoonga” drug vagrants addicts are some of the first areas that the metro police would be focusing on.
Mchunu also warned retail shops and food outlets that persist in illegally dumping refuse and evading penalties would all now be prosecuted.
He said the decision to put the City’s CCTV cameras under the control of the disaster management centre “had been a mistake, that had weakened fire command centres to efficiently respond to emergencies”.
The Daily News understands the plan to place the centre under the control of the metro police started under then City manager Sbu Sithole in 2016, but the process was hindered by his premature departure.
Former City manager Sipho Nzuza also started the process but was distracted by his troubles with the law. Mchunu said Mbhele recommended the same in September soon after his appointment
“We are relieved and excited as the metro police to get control of this asset, because we can guarantee that in three months’ time we will reduce criminal activities by half, and in six months’ time there will hardly be any undetected crime spots in the city that have not been unidentified,” Mchunu said.
Daily News