The City of Johannesburg has welcomed 171 new traffic wardens to the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD).
“The traffic wardens are former Extended Public Works Program (EPWP) employees who were previously trained to perform traffic pointsman duties,” the city said.
The Department of Public Safety identified the need to capacitate traffic wardens with additional powers in order to allow them to perform at optimum level.
The Traffic Wardens are appointed under the above National Road Traffic Act of 1996, the Businesses Act 71 of 1996, and the Criminal Procedure Act 51 0f 1977 with all powers conferred upon a peace officer in terms of Criminal Procedure.
They are also appointed under the Administration Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act of 1998.
“This means they are equipped to enforce bylaws, or issue infringements notices if necessary, and they can also be on point duty. These Traffic Wardens will also, in the future, be able to render their services to the private sector as well,” the city said.
The city said the traffic wardens will effectively conduct crime prevention while possibly generating revenue for the city.
“The traffic wardens will also soon be joined by 1 500 JMPD recruits. Of these recruits, 835 are currently completing their training at the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) Satellite Veritas Academy in Meadowlands,” the city said.
The city said with the intake of the 1 500 recruits it became apparent that the existing JMPD Training Academy in Booysens would be unable to effectively cope in presenting Metro Police Basic Training to the new recruits.
“The Veritas school was identified as a feasible option not only to assist with the training of a portion of the large intake of trainee officers but also for future utilisation by the JMPD to focus on functional, specialised and advanced training for its existing members,” the city said.
The Academy has received the permission from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), following a compliance audit, to start with the Basic Training of 835 of the recruits. – SAnews.gov.za
