Hundreds Nabbed Over Weekend in New Cape Town Roadblocks

Almost 700 people were caught in traffic roadblocks in Cape Town over the weekend, as part of a new campaign by the city to crack down on road offenses, according to news reports.

The new 18-member team – including members of the city’s Traffic Service, Metro Police, Law Enforcement and the Western Cape Traffic Department – will conduct roadblocks across the city every day, with a specific focus on drinking and driving, stolen vehicles and illegal street racing.

Last week the city’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith said in a statement, “Roadblocks are an integral policing tool, but in recent years our services have been stretched by an increasing workload thanks to service delivery protests, gang violence and land invasions. The result is that we have not been able to have as many roadblocks as we would like. This unit is a step towards rectifying that situation.”

In the weekend roadblocks in Athlone, Bellville South and Bothasig, among others, motorists were pulled over for everything from driving under the influence and reckless driving to not wearing a seat belt and not having a driver’s license.