The Metro police will intensify its awareness campaign targeting areas like shopping malls following the constant high number of drunk and driving arrests made in the City.
The Chief of Metro police David Tembe said there was a need to intensify the campaign to raise awareness about the casualties and fatalities caused by drunk drivers. He said this during the tabling of the JMPD Performance Report for July at the City council chamber on 27 August.
According to the report, driving under the influence of alcohol remains one of the top six crimes in the City with a number of 790 arrests made in July only. In June, 880 people were arrested for drunk and driving while in May, 741 arrests were made. In the inner city, 101 arrests were made, in Alexandra, Sandton and Bramley 87, Randburg and Rosebank 80, Midrand and Diepsloot 46 and more arrests were made in other areas of the City.
“The awareness campaign will commence soon and targeting areas like shopping malls, especially on weekends. There are companies that have come forward and are willing to work with us to eliminate the high number of fatalities on roads caused by driving under the influence of alcohol,” said Tembe.
Mayor Herman Mashaba said that the City had limited powers to deal with suspects found to be driving under the influence of alcohol. “We arrest people today and tomorrow they are out on the streets. When people know that there are consequences to committing a crime, there won’t be a high number of offenders. I trust that the national justice system is following what is happening in Johannesburg and assist our success by ensuring that there are consequences,” said Mashaba.
Meanwhile, the K9 unit arrested 30 suspects, recovered 13 hijacked and stolen vehicles, 16 rounds of ammunition and three firearms. The Integrated Intelligence Operations Centre (IIOC) reaction unit based in the city centre arrested 45 suspects, recovered 12 hijacked and stolen vehicles, 6 firearms and 46 ammunition. The Accident Unit has reported 41 fatalities on the City’s roads by the end of July. It also named some of the hotspot areas for accidents namely, Cedar and Spencer roads in Region A, N1 and William Nicol Drive in Region E and Claim and Ockerse streets in Region F1.
“I would like to thank each and every law enforcement officer within JMPD. You are appreciated and you have a huge role to play, and I thank you for doing so with pride. I would also like to remind residents to use the correct reporting channels when reporting a crime. This will ensure that we can deploy our resources timeously and effectively,” said Mashaba.
Details: Anti-Corruption Hotline 0800 203 712; Traffic Management Hotline 080 872 3342; JMPD emergency numbers 011 375 5911; 011 758 9620.
What could the JMPD do to reduce the number of drunk drivers on the roads?
Related article:
