As Christmas approaches, public safety is of main concern to the City of Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor, Herman Mashaba.
The festive season is notorious for being a time of heightened anxiety for road users and pet owners.
Therefore the City decided to kick-start a festive season safety campaign to remind shop owners and residents what to do and what not to do during the festive season.
The campaign focuses on being vigilant against crime and obeying by-laws.
Mashaba said the festive season falls within the summer school holiday period, a time when many businesses scale down their operations, families go on holiday and parks and shopping centres see an increase in visitors.
“Unfortunately, this is also the time of year when criminal elements take advantage of the relaxed atmosphere in our communities, resulting in homes or businesses being burgled.”
Mashaba said this year, there has already been an early increase in robberies at shopping centres, with cellphone stores, jewellery stores and cash-in-transit vehicles being targeted.
“Every year, we also see a profound disregard for by-laws and the rules of the road. Sadly, this disregard for the law sometimes results in the unnecessary loss of life.”
The mayor said it is also worrisome that excessive consumption of alcohol tends to increase during this time, which often leads to assault, increased reporting on incidents of sexual violence, reckless and negligence driving, noise compliance, fatal crashes and domestic violence.
Robert Mulaudzi, the City’s Emergency Management Services spokesperson, said the department checks stores that sell fireworks throughout the festive season.
He said they check for a permit and if the shop owner is carrying the limited amount of stock.
“We often find that shop owners buy more stock than they are allowed to have in the shop,” Mulaudzi said.
The City’s Department of Public Safety will focus on crime prevention, reduction in road fatalities, speed, vehicle fitness, compliance, pedestrian safety, by-law management, fire safety, flash flood readiness and firework display management.
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