The City of Cape Town is adding 750 body-worn cameras for Metro Police, Law Enforcement and Traffic officers.
Image: City of Cape Town
The City of Cape Town is adding another 750 body-worn cameras to its enforcement services, taking the number of devices planned for Metro Police, Law Enforcement and Traffic officers to 3 000.
There are already 2 250 body cameras in use across the city.
Footage from the cameras has been requested more than 450 times for internal investigations or shared with the South African Police Service (SAPS) for criminal investigations.
The City said the footage had been used to provide evidence of suspects’ actions and, in some cases, to deal with complaints made against officers.
Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith said the cameras offered protection to both officers and the public.
“The use of body-worn cameras protects staff, and the public,” Smith said.
The cameras also allow officers to stream live footage to the City’s operations centre.
During the June 30, 2026 protests, officers arriving at scenes were able to send live footage from their body cameras to the centre. This was used together with drone and CCTV footage, including in areas where there were no fixed cameras.
Another 25 City enforcement vehicles are also set to receive in-vehicle cameras with automatic number plate recognition technology, bringing the number of equipped vehicles to 555.
According to the City, its CCTV network, meanwhile, recorded 41 005 incidents in the 12 months to the end of June.
The City said those incidents resulted in 541 arrests, an increase of 18% on the previous year.
The bulk of the arrests were for drug possession, with 228 people arrested. A further 21 arrests were for drug dealing, while 91 were related to traffic accidents and offences.
There were also 19 arrests for theft from motor vehicles and 16 for cable or metal theft.
Another 452 suspects were apprehended after cameras picked up suspicious vehicles or vehicles police and enforcement agencies were looking for in connection with crimes.
Some of those cases involved stolen or hijacked vehicles, prohibited firearms, housebreaking implements and stolen property.
SAPS has also been requesting more City CCTV footage for its investigations.
Police asked to view footage in 242 cases between January 2026 and June 2026, 35% more than during the same period last year.
The requests weren’t limited to minor offences. They included investigations into murder, armed robbery, arson, culpable homicide and theft from motor vehicles.
Smith said he was encouraged by the increased use of the City’s CCTV footage by SAPS.
“CCTV enquiries should become par for the course in investigations,” he said.
He said increasing the number of CCTV, body-worn and vehicle cameras could provide more evidence for investigators and improve the chances of successful prosecutions.
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