Cape Town’s Metal Theft Unit recovers 1.8 t of metal, 54 km of cable
The City of Cape Town (CoCT) says its dedicated Metal Theft Unit (MTU) in the past year (ending June 30) recovered more than 1.8 t of metal and 54 km of stolen cable.
“The scary thing is that for all the confiscated items, thousands of kilograms more have made it to bucket shops and unscrupulous scrap dealers, so fuelling a number of illicit trades,” says CoCT Safety and Security MMC JP Smith.
“The MTU, however, has also recorded a marked increase in complaints attended to compared to the previous year.
“It is a sign that the theft and vandalism of infrastructure remains rampant, but also that more people are reporting it.”
The MTU recorded a downturn in arrests year-on-year (143 suspects compared with 184), but says it has increased proactive hotspot patrols by nearly 25%, which it believes served as a deterrent, while it also responded to 43% more complaints.
“The scale of the destruction becomes more evident when you consider exactly how much infrastructure we are losing and replacing, only for it to be lost again and again,” says Smith.
“This is not nickel and dime stuff, but economic sabotage, and we need to start treating it that way with swift prosecutions and heavy sentences.
“Metal theft is on the long list of priorities we hope to tackle through our cooperation agreement with the South African Police Service and the Western Cape government.”
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