Alcohol confiscations spike during festive season enforcement
City law enforcement and fire crews on scene during a festive season incident in Cape Town, as alcohol seizures and emergency responses spiked over December.
Image: Supplied
Alcohol confiscations in Cape Town surged sharply over December with close to 13 000 units of confiscations, even as police and emergency services recorded fewer assaults, domestic violence cases and road accidents during the festive season.
Public Emergency Communication Centre (PECC) logged 15 931 incidents, down from 17 722 the previous year. Assault-related calls fell from 979 to 698, domestic violence calls from 499 to 390, and road accident calls from 514 to 396. Complaints linked to the illegal sale or discharge of fireworks, however, more than doubled.
The City’s Law Enforcement Liquor Pound received 12 595 units of alcohol between 1 December and 1 January – equal to 5 673.83 litres – a steep rise on the same period last year, when just under 3 500 litres were seized.
The spike came alongside a 35% increase in drunk-driving arrests, with enforcement agencies intensifying operations across the metro during one of the busiest times of the year.
Despite the rise in alcohol-related enforcement, the Public Emergency Communication Centre (PECC) recorded declines of between 20% and nearly 30% in key categories, including assault cases, domestic violence and road accidents.
Responses to road accidents and trauma incidents dropped, but the number of vegetation and residential fires increased over the period.
Mayco Member for Safety and Security JP Smith said the statistics only tell part of the story of festive season policing.
“The statistics offer a glimpse into the work that was done across the Safety and Security Directorate over the festive season,” Smith said. “What it doesn’t do is highlight the many lives saved through proactive enforcement, education and awareness and visible patrols across the many priority areas in our city.”
He said the thousands of litres of alcohol confiscated represented “lives saved”, while the drop in trauma-related calls was encouraging, but warned that more needed to be done.
By the numbers, overall arrests dropped from 1 472 in December 2024 to 1 263 in December 2025, even as drunk-driving arrests rose from 187 to 253. Firearm confiscations increased slightly from 15 to 16, while ammunition recovered jumped from 142 to 221 rounds. Fines and transgressions climbed sharply, from 250 233 to 350 585.
The Fire and Rescue Service responded to 3 969 emergency incidents, up from 3 546 a year earlier. These included 2 501 vegetation fires, 228 informal residential fires and 189 formal residential fires. Fourteen people died as a result of fires during the period.
The Disaster Risk Management Centre coordinated responses to 129 informal settlement fires, including major incidents in Langa, Khayelitsha, Lwandle, Hout Bay and Vrygrond, affecting hundreds of residents.
Law enforcement officers made 664 arrests and issued 30 972 fines, Metro Police recorded 367 arrests, and Traffic officers arrested 232 motorists, most for driving under the influence, while executing nearly 7 000 warrants over the festive season.
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