• The City of Cape Town plans to put more boots on the ground during the festive season.
• This comes after a spike in attacks on Table Mountain and the recent shooting of an American tourist.
• The City has blamed the surge in attacks around hiking trails on a special remission order, which saw 15 000 offenders walk free in August.

The City of Cape Town plans to deploy additional law enforcement resources this festive season, with a focus on Table Mountain, following an increase in attacks on hiking trails in recent months.

“People will be coming from all over the world and from all over South Africa,” said the mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, during the launch of the City’s Festive Season Safety Plan.

He added that Cape Town was expecting to welcome more tourists than ever before.

“We want to make sure that every single one of them has a wonderful time in our city and enjoys Cape Town safely. When that doesn’t happen, we take that deeply personally [and] we feel it. It hurts us,” he said

More than 320 000 people in Cape Town rely on the tourism industry for some form of work, according to Hill-Lewis, and negative traveller experiences, especially when it comes to safety, have the potential to decimate much-needed jobs.

More boots on the ground

Hill-Lewis’ address at the base of Table Mountain on Wednesday came just a few days after an American tourist was shot in the face during a hijacking when travelling from Cape Town International Airport.

In recent weeks, there has also been an increase in violent muggings on Table Mountain.

Most recently, SANParks rangers were held up at gunpoint on Lion’s Head while responding to a pre-dawn robbery complaint.

READ | Gunman holds up SANParks rangers on Lion’s Head as crime spikes on hiking trails

As part of the City’s Festive Season Safety Plan, and with the hope of cracking down on tourist-targeted crime, 80 additional personnel will be deployed to popular tourist spots.

This will see more boots on the ground at Signal Hill, Lion’s Head, Devil’s Peak, Table Mountain trails, the Bo-Kaap, Waterfront and CBD.

The City will also deploy a number of technological interventions in these areas, including drones and mobile CCTV surveillance systems.

Arrests already made in the run-up to the festive season point to a crime wave on Table Mountain.

He added: 

Lasting solutions

The issue of repeat offenders spearheading the crime spree was reiterated by City’s mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, who said many of these parolees were found living in tents on the street.

On the issue of dangerous travel conditions around Cape Town International Airport, specifically in Nyanga, where an American tourist was recently shot, Smith said the City, the Western Cape government and its partners were already working on a solution that would steer visitors away from the area.

This intervention includes ongoing discussions with navigation apps, including Google.

Additionally, Cape Town International Airport and hotels in the city are being encouraged to communicate to tourists about dangerous spots, and to assist with plotting the safest routes when travelling around the city.