How much Cape Town spends to employ one traffic cop

The City of Cape Town has allocated R20 million to add 44 additional Metro Police officers to its highway patrol division in 2025.

Per officer, this works out to a budget of R454,545 per year, or R37,879 per month.

The sum not only goes towards salaries, however, as it also takes into account the procurement of new uniforms and equipment, the fuel that will be driven out, and the wear and tear the officers will place on their service vehicles.

These officers will bolster the City’s law enforcement presence on the notiorious N2 as well as Baden Powell Drive, Borcherds Quarry, and Airport Approach Roads.

In addition to expanding its workforce, the Mother City will also increase coverage of its CCTV systems and employ more drones for pre-planned operations.

Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, further noted that the metro plans to implement better walling solutions for hotspots on major routes to decrease the number of pedestrians and animals on the road.

Highway patrol hits it out of the park

Since its introduction in 2022, Cape Town’s dedicated highway patrol unit (HPU) has achieved marked successes on the N2 and R300 routes.

These officers conduct patrols on a 24-hour basis not only to protect road users, but also enforce the relevant legislation and attend to accident scenes or other roadway obstructions like protests and stray animals.

For the financial year to date, July 2024 to February 2025, the HPU detected 68,710 traffic offences and 3,248 pedestrian offences, and actioned 340 arrests on the 100km of roadway under its purview.

Furthermore, the HPU responded to over 4,000 vehicle breakdowns, 86% were either due to a mechanical fault, tyres, or fuel.

“These statistics offer just a glimpse into the many challenges the officers have to deal with. They also respond to accident scenes, criminal incidents, and more – even herding animals off the roadway, and clearing obstructions like rocks placed with intent to do harm,” said Smith.

“But the vehicle breakdowns continue to dominate. Experience has shown that stranded motorists are vulnerable. This is a key reason why we do these dedicated deployments, but it is a shared responsibility and I urge motorists to be more aware of their surroundings, but also the state of their vehicle, before setting off.”