DESPITE visible police, security guards and CCTV cameras, Cape Town’s busy CBD is South Africa’s common robbery capital.
The city centre, which has pinned its economic growth on tourism and sees thousands of workers descend upon it daily, has become a robbery hotspot.
Common robberies went up by 53% with 339 cases reported at the Cape Town Central police station making it the highest in the country.
Weekend Argus has been running a series looking at the neighbourhoods where police stations made it into the top 30 of the countries highest crimes.
Cape Town Central station made it onto the list for crimes related to mugging and shoplifting in the last quarter’s crime stats.
CPF chairperson Marc Truss said any crime was one too many.
“We are not living in a perfect world but Cape Town is very different because of the amount of people (who) come into the CBD everyday.
“When you look at the policing infrastructure, to try maintain law and order is almost impossible because the numbers are (disproportionate) with the amount of people coming and the modes of transport so when you look at it that way it’s very difficult to keep the streets clean and safe.
“The more people there are, the more opportunities for crime to take place. With financial difficulties, opportunistic crimes take place like those people sitting outside a coffee shop and leaving their cellphones on the table.
“People need to apply the stash it, and don't flash it rule. If criminals don’t see it then they won’t take it.”
President of the Cape Peninsula Informal Traders Forum Rosheda Muller said Cape Town has two sides, the upper side which is from Adderley Street to Bo-Kaap and the lower that runs down to the Cape of Good Hope Castle.
“The bottom is not served (as) the other side, there you find a lot of police visibility, the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) and Law Enforcement officers.
“No one is safe especially at the station deck and the Grand Parade and this has affected our businesses. People’s chains are snatched from their necks.
“Informal traders are left with nothing because of crime, we are not making any profits. The tourists are guided past the Grand Parade because of crime and the aesthetics are not up to standard.
“There needs to be a 24/7 inclusive policing plan in place to eradicate crime especially in the red zone, people must be scared to commit crime.”
Councillor Ian McMahon said robbers were always on a prowl for soft targets like the tourists and young people in entertainment areas.
“The City has deployed a total of 116 law enforcement officers and we have 300 CCID officers and 25 tourist ambassadors who help visitors in places like Signal Hill and Table Mountain and we have CCTV cameras.
“While the numbers are not flattering it would be a lot more if there was no intervention. This is more of a petty crime issue, not syndicated.”
He explained the hotspots for crime in the CBD were Long Street, where victims are usually targeted during the early hours of the morning as they may be waiting for transport and Strand Street which is one of the busiest.
“Despite all of this, there are big investment plans such as student accommodations and a hotel. If you walk around the CBD you will notice that there are cranes where the building of the City continues.”
Meanwhile Jacques Moolman, President of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said they were concerned about the surging crime rate, both in the CBD and elsewhere in the Western Cape.
“Our CEO John Lawson met with General Thembisile Patekile, head of provincial SAPS, on Wednesday to discuss areas of future cooperation to tackle crime,” he said.
Moolamn said three areas of collaboration were identified to help tackle crime in the CBD. He added that the latest provincial statistics remained a concern.
“Our most recent chamber business environment survey showed that at least 60% of the respondents expressed concern about police reliability, and at least 28% of respondent businesses suffered from the deliberate destruction of business property in 2021/2022.
“Crime affects the entire business spectrum, from small to large enterprises. We firmly believe that more pro-business economic policies, at every level, will lift more people out of crime by creating meaningful economic opportunities,” he said.
CCID’s Sharon Sorour-Morris said it was not unusual for a global city centre that had huge volumes of foot traffic every day to have petty crime, including common robbery, theft out of motor vehicles, pickpocketing and ATM fraud.
“At the CCID, we strategically deploy over 300 Public Safety Officers to patrol the streets in town in shifts 24/7. They are supported on the ground by mobile units.”
Weekend Argus