Eighteen arrests, including two for malicious damage to essential infrastructure

Weekly statement on all rail enforcement actions – a joint media release from Metrorail, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government

The Rail Enforcement Unit (REU) arrested nine suspects and inspected 147 hot spot areas and scrapyards the past week. Furthermore, the Metrorail Protection Services made nine arrests and ensured that 25 suspects remain in custody. Read more below:

Metrorail Protection Services arrested nine suspects this week and ensured that 25 offenders were denied bail. The teams also searched 1 042 individuals and patrolled 842 trains. Up to 29 illegally erected structures were dismantled and 49 street people removed from PRASA-owned property.

Furthermore, the REU conducted eight operations and 1 520 stop-and-search operations last week; inspected 147 hot spot areas and scrapyards; and conducted 74 patrols at stations. Two suspects were arrested in Delft and Ravensmead in terms of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act for tampering and malicious damage to essential infrastructure; and another seven suspects were arrested in Bishop Lavis, Lentegeur, Langa, Claremont, Kraaifontein and Kensington for the possession of suspected stolen property, dangerous weapons, and drugs.

‘Our focus on improving the rail service is unwavering as offenders continue to pay a high price for their crimes. Thieves mostly still target underground signal cable but our teams recover about 93% of it. Our teams collaborate well with various law enforcement agencies, the quality of their reporting is good and court submissions comply with prosecuting standards. We believe that this is the winning recipe for the high conviction rate in this province,’ said Metrorail Western Cape Regional Manager, Richard Walker.

‘The REU and other protection services did a sterling job this past week. The arrests in terms of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act are very important because this act provides for stricter bail conditions and harsher sentences, including up to 30 years’ imprisonment for those caught and convicted for destruction of essential infrastructure. The purpose of this act is to ensure that those who undermine and sabotage our urban rail service stay behind bars for a long time. The more arrests we make the better our chances of stabilising the rail service and ensuring that the trains arrive and depart on time. This is ultimately what we want to achieve: to restore our commuters’ faith in rail so that more commuters shift from road-based transport to passenger rail,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Alderman Felicity Purchase.

‘The work of the REU continues to bear fruit and improve safety in the rail network. The progress we see and the arrests being made every week are encouraging and necessary to rid the network of all criminal activity. Using intelligence to address the issues at their source has been critical to the success of the various operations that the REU has been involved in. Hot spot areas and scrapyards are increasingly no longer the safe haven for criminals, with more and more stolen equipment being recovered. In all of our efforts to improve the conditions in our rail network, the safety of commuters and the reliability and affordability of the service remain our main priority,’ said the Western Cape Minister of Transport and Public Works and Chairperson of the Rail Management Task Team, Donald Grant.

Members of the public can assist the REU by reporting crime and vandalism as this forms part of the intelligence that drives deployment and operations.