Difficult to keep hawkers under control
This is one of the most difficult offences to enforce
BILL SMITH writes:
I am referring to the front page article in the Bedford and Edenvale News September 17 which reads: “Violent windscreen washers removed”.
Members of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department removed six problematic windscreen washers from the Modderfontein intersection with Van Riebeeck Avenue.
What I find interesting is that according to the article – under regulation 322, no person shall display, offer for sale or deliver pursuant to a sale, any goods; on or alongside a public road inside an urban area, within 180m of a railway crossing or any other road traffic sign.
We all know that this offence is in fact being transgressed at virtually every intersection in and around Kempton Park and elsewhere. Why do the authorities not act more often?
Chief Supt Wilfred Kgasago, metro police spokesman, replies:
The EMPD does its utmost to endeavour removing the window washers, hawkers and beggars from our intersections. In terms of the National Road Traffic Act no person is allowed to linger within or around, to ply their trade or even beg at intersections.
This is one of the most difficult offences to enforce. Firstly, taking into consideration our huge responsibilities in terms of our mandate of crime prevention, traffic policing and by-law enforcement, it not possible to deploy officers on a daily basis specially to remove or arrest these offenders. Secondly, if they are removed, as soon as they are aware we are not there, they return. Thirdly, when arrested, the offenders simply pay a fine of R200 and get their wares back and simply return to continue their illegal trade.
In light of the above, I am sure it can be appreciated that this is a difficult offence to enforce as the offenders’ numbers are growing on a monthly basis. There is also the element of prioritising when we carry out our mandate as metro police officers – the same can be safely said about our big brother, the police.
This, though, does not mean that law enforcement agencies don’t regard these offences as important and deserving to be tackled seriously.
Processes are underway to get together all components of the law enforcement and justice system with the objective of joining heads to alleviate the problem.
One of the proposals would be to keep a record of arrests so that when reaching a certain number of arrests, the perennial offender is no longer liable to a fine but a jail sentence.
In the interim, we shall continue with our planned special operations as well and the periodical chasing away of offenders.
