This month a couple in a white land rover was photographed by one of our frequent users and reported for publically defacing the Chapman's Peak Drive view site.
Graffiti has been defined as "writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place" and is an issue that generates widespread community concern due to the negative impacts on community perceptions of safety. However marking other people's property without their consent, in this context makes graffiti illegal and caries a set of penalties.
City of Cape Town: Graffiti By-law, 2010: https://openbylaws.org.za/za-cpt/act/by-law/2010/graffiti/
Penalties (1) Any person who fails to comply with any provision of this By-Law shall be guilty of an offence. (2) Any person convicted of an offence in terms of this By-law shall—(a)upon conviction for a first offence be liable to a fine of R15 000 or 3 months imprisonment;(b)upon conviction for a second offence or subsequent offences, be liable to a fine of R30 000 or 6 months imprisonment, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
There is a debate over graffiti's place in society, where advocates claim it is a legitimate art form and detractors see it as vandalism. Whilst there is a place for urban "street" art as an effective form of social expression (when approved on private property), defacing the natural beauty on Chapman's Peak Drive by writing "I was here" or your girlfriend's name in a heart, is illegal and detracts from the beauty and experience for all those using the drive.
Entilini Operations takes graffiti seriously and does not treat damage to public property as a minor offense. A range of different strategies have been developed to prevent and address the problem.
- Signage - We have erected signage restricting these acts, and there is no small irony that the signage itself is vandalised.
- Quick Clean up - It costs thousands of rands annually to clean up the area, which we attempt to do as quickly as possible, but the task is endless.
- Security and Surveillance - we make use of cameras and CCTV. We'd love to install additional HD cameras but it is impossible to cover the whole drive.
- Education of our staff who are appointed as Pointsmen to deal with incidents in their deterrent role. They aim to help people understand, value and enjoy #Chappies. Part of this role is to educate and persuade the wrongdoer to behave differently.
- Patrols - pointsmen are appointed at key areas particularly during peak periods These staff members are not a policing force, and frequently encounter difficulty trying to prevent these actions.
- Reporting incidents and raising awareness amongst the public. CRIMELINE - send anonymous tipoffs to 32211 (SMS costs R1)
- Citizen Action - we encourage citizen action, like our frequent user who reported the incident- Thank you. Below is a description of his own attempt to prevent the couple from tagging Chapman's Peak Drive with their magic markers, showing that it can be difficult to stop these actions.
"On the day of the incident I noticed the two adults defacing the Drive, right below your camera. I did a U-Turn in my vehicle and approached them - in a non-confrontational manner did I request that they stop doing this. I did not get out of the car as kind yet firm words usually are the best way of dealing with transgressors. A few friendly words in this exchange yielded no positive result or change in behavior - the lady partner just continued defacing the lookout wall. I asked the husband to please tell her to stop - she was aware of our conversation - at which point I was told to “get lost” (not in as many words). I proceeded to photograph them and tried reporting the matter"
We are continually tackling the challenges of managing and regulating visitor behaviour through enforcement of park rules and restrictions. Crime prevention is a challenge in our society and graffiti is one of those layers which need to be prevented and prosecuted. Chapman's Peak does not tolerate graffiti or similar vandalism on Chapman's Peak Drive.
To all users of Chapman's Peak Drive - if you want something eternal, we ask that you take a selfie, rather than leave your autograph on our drive.
Chapman’s Peak Drive Toll Plaza Office Hours:
The Toll Plaza is open Monday - Friday from 08h00 - 16h30 for registration as a Frequent User.
Address: Toll Plaza, Chapman’s Peak Drive, Hout Bay, Cape Town
Plaza Tel: 021 791 8220
