Urgent need for street cameras
Mmegi Editor | Tuesday June 13, 2017 16:30
Murders are now a common thing, whilst deaths cause by reckless driving are also a cause for serious concern.
Some of the most dangerous drivers are public service transport providers, who usually overtake whenever and wherever they want, irrespective of safety concerns for other motorists and the passengers on board their vehicles. This is despite the presence of heavy penalties put in place five years ago in the new Road Traffic Regulations. Strict policing measures have been put in place, with police visible on our roads, but the situation seems far from improving.
Over the weekend, Tlokweng police recorded two fatalities involving vehicles colliding in one. The one incident, a minibus carrying passengers collided with another vehicle at a traffic light, which were not functioning. The collision caused the minibus to roll several times, killing one person and leaving others with serious injuries. Common sense dictates that one should slow down when approaching traffic lights, functioning or not, and give the other motorist a chance to manoeuvre.
By so doing - none of the motorists is doing the other any favour by not practicing caution - it is a standard practice. It is a requirement that all of us should comply with unconditionally.
It is therefore our position that the nation urgently needs cameras along the highways, at traffic lights, and in the streets. These cameras will assist where there are no police officers as they will send footage to the command centre. We have lost many valued lives to criminals and dangerous drivers who are often left to walk free either because they have engaged good lawyers or because there was no evidence to support the prosecution.
Security assurance is one of the pillars that make a country attractive for foreign investors and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that it facilitates a conducive environment to attain this goal. We call on the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security to publicly declare war on such crimes.
We are aware of the minister’s project of amending the Penal Code and Criminal Proceedings and Evidence Act to plug loopholes and we hope this would be done expeditiously.
Nonetheless, the presence of Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras will make this war winnable and restore public confidence in the system. Otherwise we risk a spiral in cases of mob justice as it is already happening, where the public acts as investigator, prosecutor and juror. The time to act is now.
Today’s thought
“We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.”
– Barack Obama