No Police to perform Traffic duties after June 1932

Gallows Hill Archives: 1932

Cape Argus 6 February 1932

City to take over full control

Fines to be kept by the Council

It is reported authoritatively in political circles that from June 1 with the exception of certain boroughs in Natal with which the Government has special contracts, all traffic duties will be carried out by the municipalities themselves. The police now engaged on traffic duties will revert to ordinary police duties from that date.

It is also stated that all fines imposed for traffic offences will be handed over to the municipalities after the change becomes effective.

The responsibility in future will be put on the local authorities to resolve systems of traffic control by means of traffic police and robots which will ensure the safety of the public. Traffic police may be obtained through the Police Reserve which is to be created or men can be trained by the police for this special duty. Traffic police will be enrolled as special constables and will be vested with authority as such.

It is thought that a force of 20 traffic police will be sufficient for all the requirements of Cape Town.

Mr. Gradner’s Protest

While admitting that the municipality would have to accept the inevitable, Mr. L. Gradner, chairman of the Finance Committee, protested today that the municipality would not have sufficient time to put its house in order if all traffic police were removed on June 1.

Outlining the negotiations which have been taking place between the Government and the City Council, Mr. Gradner said that when a deputation from the Council met Mr. Pirow at Pretoria in November, the deputation drew attention to the Act of 1902, by which the Government undertook control of traffic in return for the fines. Up to 1902 the municipality kept the fines.

“We wanted to adhere to the arrangement of 1902,” said Mr. Gradner, “but the Minister thought otherwise. We had to accept the inevitable. But when he spoke of removing traffic police we suggested that we might take the fines, pointing out that it was an extreme hardship for us. If the Government insisted on removing the police, the least we could ask for was the fines.”

“But at that discussion he was hardly inclined to do so.”

Questioned about the effect of the change on municipal finances, Mr. Gradner said that if the manual system of control was continued with generally it would affect the city’s budget greatly. But if robots were installed, he did not think there would be great difficulty in making the budget meet now that the city was to have the benefit of the fines.

Insufficient Time

“But I want to say that it is unfair to remove the traffic police before the end of the year. The understanding was that they would be kept on until the end of the year,” said Mr. Gradner.

“It is not sufficient time for us, seeing that we are to get notice of the change only now. We will have to put our house in order.”

“We will be able to put up robots in outlying areas, but as regards the central areas, such as Adderley Street, we will require more investigation before we change over to any other system.”

“We will certainly have liked to see the various systems in operation till the…