Transport and Public Works
- How many incidents were reported of ambushes by thieves who attacked vehicles by creating obstacles on roads and then stoning, stealing or hijacking vehicles on the Western Cape’s N2 highway, and its off-ramps and on-ramps, in (a) 2015/16, (b) 2016/17 and (c) 2017/18;
- whether any proactive measures to combat this have been taken by (a) his Department, (b) the City of Cape Town and (c) the South African Police Service; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
- The table below reflects the number of confirmed incidents for each calendar year since the establishment of the N2/R300 Priority Committee in 2015. This data was logged via the Freeway Management System (FMS). Incidents that were not detected and/or reported are not reflected in these numbers.
- The N2/R300 Priority Committee was established in May 2015 to address the criminal activities and safeguard motorists on these roads. The Committee consists of road authorities, namely SANRAL, Western Cape Government, City of Cape Town (CoCT) and law enforcement agencies, namely SAPS, Western Cape Provincial Traffic Services and CoCT Metro Police. The Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Freeway Management System (FMS) has performed an integral role in the strategic, tactical and operational functioning of the Committee and the associated deployment of law enforcement resources.
Through the FMS, hazardous sections of road were placed under 24/7 surveillance, leading to the rapid detection of incidents, a quick and coordinated response from all services and increased visibility. Through the integrated approach, and particularly the pooling of human resources, it has been possible to respond to a greater number of incidents with a bigger human resource pool and therefore minimise both response times and the time taken to clear incidents.
Incidents are captured and archived on an ITS application, along with available footage and snapshots. This has enabled the Committee to conduct trend analysis for incident hotspots and build profiles of repeat offenders. In addition, the FMS Variable Message Signs (VMSs) have been used to warn motorists of hazardous locations and promote the phone number of the Public Emergency Call Centre (PECC). Over time, the FMS has been enhanced through the use of thermal imaging cameras that detect heat and allow for improved surveillance at night. Analytics and 360 degree cameras have been piloted automatically to detect incidents, such as a stationary vehicle and to signal an alarm when a pedestrian/s approach a vehicle.
Since the inception of this project, over 27,000 incidents have been captured in this area, with the majority (87%) involving stationary vehicles and 10% being crashes. Over 236 crime incidents have been captured and reported, including robberies, smash and grab, cash-in-transit heists and assaults. Profiles of suspects have been gathered, and distributed to all law enforcement agencies using the FMS camera footage and this has led to multiple arrests. Firearms, zip guns and other weapons have also been recovered from suspicious individuals detected by camera.
The number of incidents has increased between 2015 and 2017, with 2017 being the worst year since the establishment of the Committee. The modus operandi of suspected criminals has changed and there has been a notable increase in the number of rocks placed on the roadway. This may also have been a response by suspects to behaviour change from motorists in response to an awareness campaign informing motorists of the risks of stopping on the freeway.
