Public drinking creates havoc

A critical shortage of police officers is hampering efforts to curb unruly behaviour over the Festive Season – despite a promise that more manpower would be available.

As thousands of holidaymakers continue to descend on the Dolphin Coast this week, the public is upset that drinking in public is getting out of hand and is not being policed.

Umhlali SAPS spokesperson, Vinny Pillay, said officers were working double shifts around the clock despite not being paid overtime for their services.

The other challenge facing the station was the shortage of vehicles.

Council has warned that drinking in public is not allowed, but residents complain that police and community safety officers are nowhere to be seen since the start of the festive season.

Ballito Neighbourhood Watch chairman Gary Frances said there has been many instances of lawlessness in the old village of Ballito, beaches and promenade over the past few days.

“It is unfortunate that although many calls were reportedly made by the public and residents to the Umhlali police station, KDM control room and the UIP, especially over the long weekend and public holiday, which seemed to be the worst day for illegal activity, there was a lack of effective response and visible policing,” said Frances.

This encouraged blatant lawlessness, damage to property, theft and threats of intimidation to increase.

“The reports received described incidents that made residents and visitors feel unsafe. People were drunk, fighting and blocking traffic in some areas. Our primary concern is the safety of all people living and visiting Ballito, however we also feel this will impact negatively on businesses.”

There have been calls for the Urban Improvement Programme to take more action, but Ballito UIP security manager Dieter Fittkau said the UIP was not a law enforcement agency and was not authorised to police public behaviour.

“While the UIP are able to request members of the public to refrain from contravening bylaws and request the attendance of municipal law enforcement and the SAPS in the event of noncompliance, the responsibility of addressing crowd behavior issues falls on SAPS and KDM law enforcement,” he said.

Fittkau said the UIP’s operational plan over the festive season included additional cleaning and security staff. Seven security staff had been hired to patrol the promenade and lower Ballito during the day and nine staff covered the area during the evening.

Despite KZN police commissioner Khombinkosi Jula telling a media briefing last month that more than 24,000 law enforcement officers would be deployed across the province during the festive season it appears these resources have yet to reach the North Coast.

Jula said the additional contingent of manpower, the highest contingent yet, was to ensure a tighter operation aimed at reducing general crime, as well as road crashes and fatalities

However, Captain Pillay said due to budgetary constraints, officer were not being paid overtime and many staff were volunteering to work additional hours without pay. Pillay said they were currently trying to come up with a plan to use resources from neighbouring police stations to assist the Umhlali officers.

While Durban metro police have recorded 66 arrests for drink-related cases since the start of the festive season in Durban, Frances is questioning the lack of steps Umhlali SAPS and KDM crime prevention are taking to manage public safety, enforcing bylaws and ensuring public safety in Ballito.

During the National Liquor Awareness campaign launched on November 28, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Nomalungelo Gina said alcohol binge drinking during the festive season had reached unacceptable levels.

“Many violent killings and assault cases that SAPS deals with during this season are a result of alcohol abuse. We are a drinking nation and therefore have an alcohol-drinking problem as a country,” she said.

Meanwhile, SAPS Tongaat station commander Santha Moodley assured the community of Tongaat that high visibility will be maintained.

“Regular patrols, road blocks, shebeen raids, scrapyard and second-hand shop visits, and stop and search will be conducted in the Tongaat area with special focus on intensified police visibility in Tongaat CBD, on the beaches and residential areas.”

KwaDukuza municipal spokesperson Sipho Mkhize said: “We understand there have been issues with monitoring this problem (illegal drinking) in the Ballito area, but we want to assure the public we will be handling this going forward.”

The role of bye-law enforcement falls with KwaDukuza’s Community Safety Unit who work with KDM’s Crime Prevention and Traffic Police management and various stakeholders to ensure safety and security within the municipality.

Residents can call the 24-hour hotline number at 032 437 5570.

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