Durban - The eThekwini Municipality will soon install closed-circuit television cameras in areas that have been identified as crime hot spots in a bid to curb rampant crime that has left communities living in fear.
The move was announced by eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda when he was tabling the city’s draft budget last week. He announced a number of priorities for the city.
The mayor told councillors that the recent spike in crime incidents was worrying for everyone and needed to be swiftly addressed.
“As the leadership of eThekwini Municipality, we are concerned about the escalating incidents of crime in the city. People are mugged and killed in broad daylight in places where they are supposed to feel safe. We are also observing a growing trend of mass killings, particularly in the outer west areas,” said the mayor.
He said the city had developed a plan to deal with the noted rise in crime, including:
- Installing CCTV in the CBD, rural and township communities, particularly in areas that have been identified as crime hotspots.
- Donating land to the SAPS to build a fully-fledged police station in Marrianhill, a move that will improve policing in areas such as Tshelimnyama, Mpola, Dassenhoek, KwaSanti and KlaarWater.
- Deploying multi-disciplinary teams to deal with the killing of community leaders and mass murders.
- Deploying dedicated teams to deal with bad buildings, drugs, and illegal liquor outlets.
The mayor added that the city was also teaming up with the business sector to establish satellite police stations in crime hotspots.
“As part of our efforts to increase police visibility on our streets, the municipality continues to recruit Metro Police officers with the intention to reach a target of 5000 law enforcement officers. Currently, we have 200 Metro Police trainees who are at college,” Kaunda said.
He told councillors that the recruitment of an additional 200 members will soon be completed and from 2024, the municipality will be recruiting 400 new police officers annually.
The mayor said everyone had a role to play in the fight against crime, pointing out that such a responsibility should not be left to the government only.
This, Kaunda said, was the reason the city continued to work with community crime fighting structures to mobilise communities to form a united front against crime.