The City’s Traffic Service, Law Enforcement and Metro Police departments arrested 304 suspects and issued 92 924 fines during weekly enforcement operations. This represents a near 25% increase in arrests week-on-week.
Traffic officers arrested 110 suspects, impounded 126 vehicles, confiscated 193 cell phones and issued 82 824 fines during weekly enforcement patrols throughout the metropole.
On Thursday, 10 March 2022 traffic officers arrested the driver of a Toyota Avanza taxi for producing false documentation. The suspect was taken to Philippi East Police Station. When the vehicle owner arrived at the police station, he admitted that the license plate and disc were from one of his other vehicles, and he too was arrested for allowing the driver to operate the vehicle with the fraudulent documents.
While officers were busy processing the suspects, the owner contacted his wife to collect their possessions, but instead, a group of about 40 taxi drivers and owners stormed the police station, gained entry and demanded that both suspects be set free immediately. When the group saw that their demands will not be met they violently grabbed the suspects in the room and in the scuffle pushed a traffic officer against one of the tables.
Fortunately, two detectives who were in the room intervened and prevented them from assaulting the officer. The group then managed to free the suspects and left the police station. The station commander activated a 72-hour plan of action to have the suspects re-arrested. Criminal cases for possession of fraudulent documents and escape from lawful custody were opened.
‘This is the second incident of this nature in just a matter of days – the other having been the incident in Lotus River the very next day, where a mob of people prevented Law Enforcement officers from arresting a suspect on drug-related charges. It’s a sad day when we have people coming to the aid of suspects in the manner that we witnessed in these incidents. Communities should not allow a few perpetrators who attack enforcement staff to empower criminals in their neighbourhoods. If anyone has seen or knows anything, we ask that they call the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre with information about these attacks. The persons who obstructed justice for goodness knows what end, could be victims next time round, at the hands of the same individuals they helped escape.
One attack on an officer of the law is one too many, and unfortunately more and more people feel emboldened to do just that. To our staff members, I say thank you for the hard work and for going out on a limb day after day in support of law-abiding citizens. Your efforts do not go unnoticed, and I trust that you will not be deterred by these pockets of criminality,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
Metro Police officers arrested 149 suspects and issued 5 673 fines during weekly enforcement operations, while their Law Enforcement counterparts made 155 arrests and issued 4 427 fines.