Crime increasing in Cape Town suburb due to broken streetlights
Tafelsig residents are very concerned as crime continues to escalate. The broken streetlights at the bus stop provide opportunity to robbers.
Residents of Tafelsig in Cape Town are very concerned as crime is on the uprise. The bus stop in the area is now a crime hotspot. Criminals are taking advantage of the broken streetlights at the bus stop in the mornings and evenings.
ROBBERS TARGETING WORKING PEOPLE
Christine Claassen, a member of Tafelsig Neighbourhood Watch (NHW), stated that robbers are targeting people at the bus station. They target people waiting for the bus to go to work and those coming home from work. She mentioned that the problem of broken streetlights have been going on for more than a year. NHW members try to accompany people to and from the bus stops if possible. However, it is not possible for them to do so for everyone.
Tafelsig is located in Mitchell’s Plain – a Cape Town area notorious for gangs and violence.
“Good lighting is one of the most effective means of increasing levels of safety and deterring crime, because it increases levels of visibility when it is dark,” states the City of Cape Town’s guidelines for a safer city. A councillor on the Mayoral Committee mentioned that the constant vandalism of streetlights in the area has put a strain on the City’s resources, as reported by capetownetc. Theft of cables by criminals is a common occurrence in the area.
WHAT IS SAPS SAYING?
In a South African Police Service (SAPS) media statement issued last month, SAPS stated that they are building more police stations in areas experiencing high crime volumes in the Western Cape Province. Tafelsig is one of these areas. In the statement, it says that “progress is being made in the clearing of the site earmarked for the construction of the Tafelsig station which will bring police services closer to residents of Michelle’s Plain. While there have been some delays in the commencement of construction at the Tafelsig police station due to community’s demands to fall part of the construction project, this has since been resolved and contractors have agreed to source labour from the local community”.
The Tafelsig police station is meant to combat the high crime rate and gangsterism in the area. However, it is only expected to be completed by 2026.
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