MOSSEL BAY NEWS - In terms of security and safety, the Mossel Bay area enjoyed a particularly peaceful, safe festive season.

Municipal councillor Leon van Dyk, the portfolio chairman for Community Safety, said: "Mostly in the Dias and Hartenbos areas, there were problems with youngsters violating and damaging road signs."

But this was about the only real disruptive behaviour during the festive season besides for drunk driving.

There were 49 arrests for drunk driving during December. These arrests were made by municipal traffic officers, the police and provincial traffic officers, Van Dyk said.

There were 47 road accidents during December and some were alcohol abuse related, he noted.

"We are concerned about that," Van Dyk said. "On average, the readings of alcohol users were higher than in previous years."

He said: "From a general safety perspective, the festive season went well. We had good co-operation with all the partners. A private chopper iniative was running. The neighbourhood watches and tourist monitors and ambassadors were on duty. There were no serious incidents. "

Station commander

Lieutenant-Colonel Virgil Julius, KwaNonqaba Police Station commander, noted that there was a decrease in crime over the 2021 festive season, compared to 2020. KwaNonqaba Police Station serves the largest area in Mossel Bay.

Julius said: "There was a decrease in contact crimes, which include assaults, assault with grievous bodily harm, murders, rapes and robberies.

"A decrease was also recorded in our property-related crime such as house breaking, theft and theft out of and from motor vehicles."

He noted: "Regarding ongoing problems such as drugs and liquor-related crimes, we had numerous successes with operations done by our officers.

"Although murders decreased, as a community we lost young people aged from 16 to 21 years.

"I assure that our dedicated detectives are working hard to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"The success we enjoyed in the 2021 festive season can be attributed to the police-initiated actions with numerous integrated operations with other role-players, for example road blocks, stop-and-search operations, high-visibility patrols and 'foot beats'.

"I laud all partners in the crime prevention sector for their efforts but a huge part of our success can be attributed to the law-abiding citizens of our area. I believe that together we can overcome everything."

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