The World Cup has not brought a smile to everyone’s faces when it comes to staying safe. As Grocott’s Mail reported last week, an undisclosed number of Grahamstown police officers have been deployed to Port Elizabeth to assist in security for the World Cup.
The World Cup has not brought a smile to everyone’s faces when it comes to staying safe. As Grocott’s Mail reported last week, an undisclosed number of Grahamstown police officers have been deployed to Port Elizabeth to assist in security for the World Cup.
Also, the assistance that the Grahamstown police force usually receives from neighbouring police stations during the National Arts Festival is not forthcoming this year because they are needed in PE.
The problem that this poses for Grahamstown is that this is the one time of year when the town needs more security than usual.
Fortunately for Grahamstown there is a company that for many years has received the security tender and stepped up to help: Hi-Tec Security.
Hi-Tec is a private company and their guards are professionally trained and graded. According to the guard manager, Gavin Stobbs, Hi-Tec always hires more guards over the Festival.
Seeing as this year’s Festival is longer and there are less police “we have hired an extra 80 guards, that’s in addition to our 300 permanent staff,” said Stobbs.
Hi-Tec will be patrolling the main areas which include the 1820 Settlers Monument, Fiddlers Green, High Street, Church Square and the Village Green on Rhodes University’s Great Field.
This is over and above their normal patrolling around town. André Willé, the general manager, says that he has noticed that the trend is that crimes such as break-ins decrease during Festival while others like stealing handbags and car break-ins occur more often.
He warned that people need to look after their possessions very carefully and make sure everything is safe and locked up. Seven of the local pubs have gotten together with Hi-Tec to help protect their patrons.
The Rat & Parrot, Friar Tucks, Olde 65, EQ, Slip Stream Sportsbar, The Long Table and Pirates Pizza have all joined in what Willé describes as a “fantastic initiative”.
They have hired a patrol car and some guards to watch their pubs and make sure that their patrons are safe in addition to some of the pubs having bouncers.
