Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called for the introduction of cellphone signal-blocking technology at Pollsmoor prison. This comes as the City has received reports that crime and extortion activity is being coordinated by phone from within Pollsmoor.
More recently, the mayor says he was informed that a contractor working on a road project in Bishop Lavis had left the site due to extortion threats made by phone call from an underworld figure inside Pollsmoor.
“This shows we must do more than just jail criminals; we have to prevent their ability to coordinate crime from within prisons,” added Hill-Lewis
The Mayor says he has written to Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald to offer the City’s full support for the pilot of signal-blocking technology at Pollsmoor.
“We have to flip the switch on cellphones in prisons, and we welcome the Minister’s public commitments to cracking down on this,” said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
Besides technology to jam signals and intercept communications from underworld figures inside prisons, Groenewald has reportedly also publicly committed to intensifying raids on illegal contraband, including illicit cellphones in correctional facilities.
Mayor Hill-Lewis has offered the City’s support in various ways, including:
- Intelligence-sharing to identify patterns of criminal activity emanating from Pollsmoor
- Technical and logistical support to install signal-blocking technology
- Raising public awareness to support these efforts
The City also continues to raise concerns about flaws in the parole system, which enable repeat offenders to continue conducting illegal operations in communities.
Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says the City officers regularly encounter incidents of parolees committing repeat offences.
Smith added that it is also common for arrested suspects to return to the streets of Cape Town due to the broken criminal justice system’s inability to secure convictions.
“We continue to call for reforms to the early parole system, and for criminal investigative powers to be devolved to our municipal officers to help SAPS gain more convictions by building prosecution-ready case dockets, especially for gang, gun, drug and extortion-related crime,’ said Smith
READ MORE: Raid at Pollsmoor Prison
