South African traffic police now getting military training

Over 1,500 Gauteng Traffic Wardens graduated from training at South African National Defence Force (SANDF) facilities on 28 November 2024.

The recruits were subjected to a shortened version of basic military training in an effort to bolster the capabilities and effectiveness of the province’s traffic police.

Going forward, their main duties will be crime fighting, traffic control, and other community safety duties in South Africa’s economic hub.

The latest graduating class is the third intake of Gauteng Traffic Wardens to pass military tutelage.

The SANDF-taught traffic police have been trained to specialise in and enhance road safety and reduce crime.

“The unit consists of highly trained and dedicated individuals who perform various duties which include intelligence-driven operations, which entails gathering and analysing information to inform crime prevention strategies and CCTV camera monitoring, this is where they will be utilising surveillance cameras to monitor and respond to criminal activities,” said the SANDF.

“They are also responsible for infrastructure team management, overseeing the maintenance, and management of traffic infrastructure.”

Last but not least, these individuals form part of special task teams focused on reducing the rate of hijackings in Gauteng.

Festive season crackdown

Alongside the new batch of highly skilled traffic wardens, the Gauteng government recently handed over 201 new vehicles as well as five command centres to the province’s police service.

This is on top of three helicopters and in excess of 10,000 CCTV cameras that were delivered to provincial authorities over the past 18 months.

The Johannesburg region will receive the highest number of new police vehicles to tackle the crimes in Johannesburg CBD as part of the metro’s CBD revitalization programme.

“This is in an effort to put more boots on the ground to ensure that a safer Gauteng emerges,” said Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi.

Lesufi noted that across the provincial traffic department and police services, Gauteng will have over 12,0000 traffic wardens patrolling its streets and cities this festive season.