Company's Garden security beefed up
Better security is on the cards for the Cape Town's Company's Garden.
This includes the presence of a private security company hired by the City of Cape Town to supplement existing CCID security officers, who patrol the garden and precinct on foot and bicycle between 9.15am and 9pm daily.
Four officers from the private security company will be on duty from 6am to 6pm.
Law enforcement officers who patrol the garden and its surrounds will continue to do so between 7am and 4pm.
The Company's Garden is the oldest in SA, and certainly among the country's top tourist attractions.
But local residents have long raised concerns about safety in the area, with Weekend Argus reporting at least one attack in broad daylight on a staff member earlier this year.
Other added precautions include:
The cameras help police apprehend suspects and monitor safety.
The partnership said in a statement that city law enforcement unit statistics showed that the majority of problems in the garden involved contraventions of minor by-laws, such as loitering.
But Tasso Evangelinos, chief operational officer of the CCID, said the objective was to proactively prevent these misdemeanours, so that people can enjoy incident-free visits.
The City of Cape Town said bollards at the top and bottom of Government Avenue would not impede security efforts as security and emergency vehicles can enter the garden via Avenue Street.
Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Posted at 06:41AM May 07, 2012 by Editor in Cities and Towns |