[Image: Freerange Stock]
Cape Town’s Easter weekend in 2025 was, surprisingly, a bit of a snooze – in a good way.
With fewer sirens blaring and less drama unfolding, the City of Cape Town’s enforcement agencies are probably still high-fiving each other after reporting a solid drop in arrests and emergency calls compared to 2024.
The City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre logged 2,086 incidents over the long weekend—down a chunky 23% from last year’s 2,725. That’s nearly 640 fewer panicked calls and chaotic scenes.
Still, we weren’t totally off the hook: 910 medical emergencies kept paramedics busy, alongside 37 fires, 125 assault cases (yep, people still can’t behave), 50 domestic violence reports, and 54 road accidents.
“It was a mixed bag this Easter, we are grateful for the decline in cases of interpersonal violence and other categories that are very often linked to alcohol abuse,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith, per IOL.
Law enforcement saw fewer people in cuffs, too – 273 arrests versus last year’s 305. But don’t celebrate too quickly: officers still handed out a wild 60,587 fines. That’s right, tens of thousands of Capetonians apparently didn’t get the memo about behaving over Easter.
But there was a darker note. Smith flagged a worrying spike in pedestrian deaths – four fatalities, with three happening at night along the N2 and R300.
“I am disappointed and concerned about the number of incidents involving pedestrians. As winter approaches, we will step up our pedestrian education efforts and it is hoped that our planned additional deployments along the N2 for the new financial year could also assist,” Smith added.
As for drunk driving? That edged up a bit, from 25 to 28 cases. Looks like some folks are still treating the roads like their own personal rally tracks. But enforcement wasn’t asleep at the wheel with officers out in full force, confiscating illegal firearms like they were collecting stamps.
On Monday night, Metro Police and SAPS nabbed a 28-year-old in Hanover Park packing heat – two pistols and seven rounds of ammo, to be exact.
“Officers responded to a tip-off of guns being sold in the parking lot of a shopping centre. Two pistols and seven rounds of ammunition were recovered, and the suspect was detained at Philippi East SAPS,” the City reported.
Traffic Services weren’t slacking either. They impounded 216 vehicles, executed 997 arrest warrants, and racked up nearly 49,000 traffic offences. That’s some serious clipboard action.
And Operation Exodus? The long-distance public transport safety blitz kicked into a higher gear, with vehicle checks up 15%—from 487 in 2024 to 562 this year.
Someone’s clearly doing their homework.
[Source: IOL]
