A Beach Road ‘car guard’ was arrested by the Community Crime Prevention Organisation (CCPO) for housebreaking on Tuesday, 12 January.
According to operations manager, Leon Joone, the robber was masquerading as a car guard on Beach Road. His accomplice is still at large.
In 2013 ward 97 councillor, Andre Beetge in conjunction with Toti SAPS and the CCPO initiated a project where local businesses funded a two-week training programme for car guards to learn personal hygiene, attire, interaction with the community, radio operator skills and identification of explosives.
It was hoped that by regulating the informal car guard industry, it would weed out the undesirables and the opportunist thieves.
Fifteen guards went through training, only four of whom still remain in the system.
“The rest found jobs elsewhere,” said Cllr Beetge. “The purpose of the project was to empower people, which it did. Love them or hate them, but car guards are a reality and they are here to stay. It is how you manage the situation that makes a real difference.”
Cllr Beetge recently proposed a solution to the problem to council.
“Statistics from SAPS, Metro Police and private law enforcement confirm the involvement of opportunistic individuals in crime who with no qualifications, allegiance or responsibility other than to a hungry stomach or a drug craving.
We have reached the point where it has, as the custodians of our citizens’ inherent dignity and their right to have that dignity respected and protected, become our responsibility to take ownership and lend guidance to a resolve.
Love them or hate them, but car guards are a reality and they are here to stay
As of 28 February 2015, the total outstanding traffic fines for the city accumulated to R1.78-billion and a total of 133 staff members are directly involved in fine processing.”
Cllr Beetge proposed the city educates, trains, empowers and employs people at virtually no cost to the city, resulting in the city’s own brigade of parking attendants.
“Not only would council be reimbursed for skills training, but the tried and tested 50-50 split raised in parking fees would not only cover the cost of equipment and uniforms and go a long way to fill the city’s empty traffic coffers, but it would also instil individuals with the dignity that comes with real employment.
Gone would be the days of people either not paying for parking, or not paying their traffic fines. A responsible, incentivised parking attendant identified by a identity tag and with all personal data recorded on council record, and armed with a parking ticket machine, could be allocated a certain number of parking bays.”
The idea is that the parking attendant would also be obligated to keep his parking bays clean to entice customers, which would go a long way in dealing with Toti’s litter problem.
While Grahamstown and Cape Town have implemented similar projects with success, Cllr Beetge’s suggestion was shot down in council.
“Unfortunately Toti cannot implement this project on its own,” said Cllr Beetge.
Click here to read more about Toti carguards
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