Cape Town danger areas

[Robbie Stewart]

50 minutes ago, Duane_Bosch said:

The Recce's are all in their 50's and 60's. And 95% of the people who claim to have been Recce's are fking liars.

Sure they're old(er), but if you underestimate their knowledge, skill and experience you're being foolish.

A gang of 28's are no match for 3 or 4 specop veterans. I knew one. I've seen his toys. I've handled his memorabilia. I've heard the stories. I've seen the pictures.

[Duane_Bosch]

1 hour ago, nonky said:

I think that's a sound approach but, IIRC, the guy who pepper sprayed bikejackers in Pta East recently got shot three times for his efforts...that's the outcome that really sucks.

 

Ja no doubt a gun changes the conversation. 

[The Ouzo]

a couple of well positioned snipers is what is needed.

[Hairy]

53 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

a couple of well positioned snipers is what is needed.

Have you been to CT ... sniper will fire in the direction of signal hill and then the wind gusts and some poor dude / dudedet gets shot in the rear at the V&A

[The Ouzo]

30 minutes ago, Hairy said:

Have you been to CT ... sniper will fire in the direction of signal hill and then the wind gusts and some poor dude / dudedet gets shot in the rear at the V&A

you okes down there fire cannons every day, now you're worried about an itsy bitsy little bullet.  

[DJR]

4 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

you okes down there fire cannons every day, now you're worried about an itsy bitsy little bullet.  

We only fires blanks.........whether invaded, by the British or Transvalers.........just blanks.........we haven't got the (cannon) balls to use the real thing.🤪

[Shebeen]

10 hours ago, DJR said:

About Table Mountain safety:

I do not think that hundreds of unarmed rangers are needed to solve this crime problem. Yes, I will be happy if they have more visible patrolling, but all it will do is to displace the criminals, not find, arrest, prosecute and lock them up. They will just move elsewhere and before you know it the beaches or the other parks will have the same problem.  

So, how to do it?

I feel that a smaller well equipped team of dedicated "criminal hunters"with the skills to investigate, track, monitor, react quickly, do sting operations etc are needed. When a specific area is plagued by criminals, zoom in on them, catch them, remove them from the equasion. Then tackle the next problem etc. until it is well known that if you put a bad foot on the mountain, you will be hunted down and caught. Throw the skills AND the resources at it, but target the operation very specifically, as opposed to throwing a lot of poorly equipped and toothless rangers at it.

Also, I think one should distinguish the difference between theCape Point reserve where SANParks have good access control from the land side and Table Mountain where it is impossible .

My 2c 

 

can add my R0.02.

this incident during UTCT has absolutely nothing to do with the current spree on the front Table, race management needs to take responsibility for putting the route there.

if I was in charge, or even just part of CT tourism, I would have a spotting team stationed in a high rise in CBD, could even be the civic centre. Get some proper optics and high def cameras rolling.

if a crime is reported within 10minutes of the incident, quick info and this team can roll back, and follow the criminal in real time. another team on the ground can go mop up.

 

kind of like this, but focussed on a small area and no planes required.

 

Maybe they are already doing this.

 

[cadenceblur]

Read somewhere that the city already has some integrated surveillance camera network in place

[Robbie Stewart]

1 hour ago, cadenceblur said:

Read somewhere that the city already has some integrated surveillance camera network in place

It does have one yes. All major routes has a comprehensive camera system that is monitored 24/7. They also have a gunshot alert system that records and triangulates gunshots and reports that to SAPS and law enforcement for action. 

The problem is how to employ this tech on a mountain that is basically accessable from anywhere and everywhere.

[Hairy]

13 hours ago, Shebeen said:

can add my R0.02.

this incident during UTCT has absolutely nothing to do with the current spree on the front Table, race management needs to take responsibility for putting the route there.

if I was in charge, or even just part of CT tourism, I would have a spotting team stationed in a high rise in CBD, could even be the civic centre. Get some proper optics and high def cameras rolling.

if a crime is reported within 10minutes of the incident, quick info and this team can roll back, and follow the criminal in real time. another team on the ground can go mop up.

 

kind of like this, but focussed on a small area and no planes required.

 

Maybe they are already doing this.

 

You make a good point of high def long range cameras, but locate them at the top of select buildings, and connect them back to a control station so that one person can monitor multiple cameras.

To make this even better, you need camera's with AI. These you can really get the most out of your surveillance exercise where you can set up "danger zones", can track any identified persons, and it leaves a "snail trail" behind the person so that you can trace where they are going and where they have been .... now you can go back on the persons trail and find any good that may have been dumped for later collection, or compile a database of hot trails to see where the persons are traveling through. So doing you can better plan where to apprehend or monitor the persons.

There must be a heck of a lot more you can do with the AI camera's

[Duane_Bosch]

11 hours ago, Robbie Stewart said:

 

The problem is how to employ this tech on a mountain that is basically accessable from anywhere and everywhere.

There are motion and thermal cams around the high end suburbs in HB and Caanstaahnsha. I'm sure it's the same in the city. When these are tripped stuff starts to happen.

But the baddies aren't stupid. They send people who aren't part of their direct crew to test the cams coz they aren't always operational. There was a home invasion recently close to where I live and the bad guys KNEW that 2 cams were down and they simply walked past them. No fks given.

Sanparks wouldn't bother with adding any real value tho. They are the literal definition of useless.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Duane_Bosch

[DJR]

1 hour ago, Duane_Bosch said:

..................Sanparks wouldn't bother with adding any real value tho. ............

I agree that we should not look to SANParks for a lasting solution. Neither should we look at the SAPS.

We should look for people who have some of their own skin in this fight.

That leaves the City of Cape Town and us, the mountain users. Here I include the user groups like Table Mountainbikers, Tokai MTB, Tourism Board, Hotels, Tour guides, Hangliders, Rock Climbers, Mountain Club of SA, hell even dogwalkers, Kirstenbosch, SANBI, Friends of Table Mountain, Ratepayers Associations..........if we can mobilise them, the politicians, and therefore the burocrats will get off their butts and do something effective and lasting.

If you make me the King of The Mountain (hypothetically, with my tongue in my cheek), my first order of business (seriously) would be to take the whole of the Northern part of Table Mountain National Park back from the neglecting management of SANParks and give it to either the City of Cape Town (they used to run it) or Cape Nature (who are much more functional than SANParks). I'll leave Boulders and the Southern part including Cape Point to SANParks because they have not done badly looking after those. But they are totally inept running an open access park like Table Mountain. I should not blame them (but I do) because their true mandate, which is conservation, is not really compatible with an open access park in the middle of a world city. They should have realised long ago that they cannot do it and given it to someone who can!

Ok, I know that's more than 2c

Edited November 30, 2023 by DJR

[Jewbacca]

I hate to be a negative nancy, but there is more chance of SA creating jobs and paying a living wage to eradicate the need for so much criminal activity than there is of most of this theorized solution.

Until this country can figure out a way to eliminate poverty, create jobs and supply proper housing AND breed out the criminal/gang mindset, there will be excessive crime.

The criminals will always be ahead of the game as those implementing the laws, systems and plans aren't paid enough NOT to supply the information for a small fee/cut.

As an avid mountain user it sucks. But that's how I view it.

Criminality is unfortunately what this country was founded on. Whether it's been stealing people's dignity, freedom, equality, money or possessions, it is ingrained in our history 

[nonky]

https://www.capetownetc.com/news/mountain-bikers-robbed/

ARREST MADE

05 Dec: Group of mtn bikers robbed at knifepoint ( jeep track close to Military Road and on the slopes above Tamboerskloof).

"Accomplice" arrested at "previously invaded and unlawfully occupied" property.   

 

 

[droo]

18 minutes ago, nonky said:

https://www.capetownetc.com/news/mountain-bikers-robbed/

ARREST MADE

05 Dec: Group of mtn bikers robbed at knifepoint ( jeep track close to Military Road and on the slopes above Tamboerskloof).

"Accomplice" arrested at "previously invaded and unlawfully occupied" property.   

 

 

The article, and several others doing the rounds, fail to mention that the MTBers were the ones who had to go and fetch law enforcement from their positions and escort them to where the muggers were hiding out.

All the reporting around the arrests makes it sound like SAPS and SANPARKS did all the work.

[gemmerbal]

I see on Johnny Koen’s sm that Velotex was held up this morning. He suffered a pistol whipping and he and his staff were robbed of all belongings. This is ridiculous!