Beach-goers at the Clifton Fourth Beach.
A pre-planning meeting to address the approaching festive period on Camps Bay and Clifton beaches was held last week.
The meeting, called by the Camps Bay and Clifton Community Police Forum (CBCPF), was attended by relevant stakeholders including the Ward 54 councillor, Nicola Jowell, SAPS, Law Enforcement, Traffic, Metro Police, security agencies and other community groups in the area.
The meeting was to ensure successful planning for the large number of visitors who will be heading to the beaches over the next few months and after the festive season.
Ms Jowell said these meetings become essential as the peak periods at the beach can sometimes be unpredictable and they needed to ensure adequate resources were available.
“Key dates for potential large scale numbers on the beaches were identified and highlighted as the days of potential issues and additional resources will be needed to ensure visitor safety,” she said.
Ms Jowell said policing of the Atlantic Seaboard remains the operational responsibility of SAPS who are supported by the City agencies such as Law Enforcement, Traffic and Metro Police and are deployed according to a SAPS planning grid for any operation.
“The partnership with community organisations is also essential,” she said.
The last two weekends have seen significant numbers deployed to the area, especially from Law Enforcement.
“I would like to remind beachgoers to please leave their alcohol at home as it is illegal to drink on the beaches regardless of how much it is, the law applies equally,” she said.
Communications officer for the CBCPF Storm Barry said they haven’t finalised plans yet as this was a pre-planning meeting.
“We’ll report on this as soon as things are finalised,” she said.
Camps Bay police station commander Captain Keith Chandler said they have already been running operations for the past two weeks with the assistance of other stakeholders.
“This is a busy season and matric students have been flooding in and having their parties this side and we’ll do all we can to ensure safety. There will be zero tolerance of alcohol and other illicit activities and we’ll continue with these operations for as long as possible,” he said.
This meeting comes after the first weekend of October attracted hundreds of people to the Atlantic Seaboard beaches where law enforcement officers were present in large numbers across the ward, focusing on illegal drinking in Camps Bay, Maiden’s Cove and Clifton (“No arrests for beach boozers,” Atlantic Sun, October 9)
Two separate incidents of fighting were reported in which three people were hurt and given medical assistance. Ms Jowell said roadblocks in Clifton continued this past weekend with the focus on reducing illegal drinking on the beaches and there were increased patrols across the area by all role-players assisting in ensuring no criminal or public safety incidents occurred.