The City of Cape Town’s (CoCT’s) specialist metals theft unit, the Copperheads, recovered more then 53 km of stolen cable during the last six months of 2023.
The unit says it executed 404 autonomous operations, 1 260 scrapyard inspections and 1 777 hot spot patrols, and responded to 277 complaints from the public during this period.
These efforts resulted in 83 arrests – a 34% increase, compared with the same period the year before, and the recovery of 1.2 t of metal and 53 km of stolen cable.
Staff also impounded eight vehicles and issued 1 557 fines for various by-law transgressions.
“The increase in arrests and confiscations shows once more the extent of the challenges linked to cable and metal theft,” says CoCT Safety and Security MMC JP Smith.
“The impact on services, the economy and the repairs and maintenance budgets of departments which bear the brunt of the scourge is well documented.
“And the load on our metal theft unit – and enforcement services on the whole – is not getting any lighter.”
Smith adds that the strategies of metal thieves are constantly changing, with new trends visible every few months, which requires law enforcement agencies that are able to pivot at a moment’s notice.