CCTV cameras are being installed in Bo-Kaap and District Six as part of a community-driven crime-fighting initiative.
A total of R600,000 has been allocated for the 2023-’24 financial year to increase CCTV coverage in crime hotspots, with a high-mast camera in District Six.
Bo-Kaap Neighbourhood Watch welcomes the initiative, emphasizing the need for visible policing and collaboration to reduce crime in the area.
Community crime fighters in the Bo-Kaap and District Six hope that the installation of new CCTV cameras in hotspot areas will help fight crime in these neighbourhoods.
Francine Higham, Ward 77 councillor and Mayco member for community services and health, said the cameras form part of the 2023-’24 ward allocation project.
“It is an ongoing initiative to use technology to support the authority’s crime fighting efforts in hotspot areas.”
Higham said identifying the specific location of these cameras is done in consultation with neighbourhood watches and by using data from reported crimes and Emergency Police Incident Control (EPIC) complaints.
“In 2022-’23, almost a million rand was allocated by the City for CCTV cameras in crime hotspots in the Bo-Kaap, with a further R150 000 allocated from the Ward Budget to Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras on the Mill Street Bridge off ramp.”
Higham said in the 2023-’24 financial year she allocated a further budget of R600 000 to CCTV cameras for additional coverage of crime hotspots in the Bo-Kaap.
“And a high-mast CCTV camera in District Six to provide better surveillance of the vacant restitution land that is at risk of ongoing unlawful occupations, and other criminal activity.
“In the 2024-’25 financial year, I’ve allocated R230 000 of my Ward Allocation budget for additional LPR cameras to assist with monitoring of vehicles at key entry and exit points in the ward.”
Ebrahim Christian, chair of the Bo Kaap Neighbourhood Watch, said all efforts to mitigate crime are welcomed.
“We welcome this. We were part of the project. We hope this will help to bring criminals to book.”
According to Christian, shootings in the area have declined.
This follows a deadly shooting that claimed the life of a 34-year-old man on the corner of Chiappini and Hout streets in January (“Police hunt for gunmen as residents raise concerns over crime hotspot,” People’s Post, 28 January 2025)
He adds that more visible policing in the area is needed.
Higham said fighting crime is a joint responsibility.
“While the primary responsibility for safety in our community rests with the police, this investment of our ward allocation budget in CCTV cameras is one way that, as ward councillors, we can contribute to making Cape Town safer.”
