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Speaker 1: All right.

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Speaker 2: Now, it has been the Easter weekend or passover again

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Speaker 2: if you do celebrate those things, and they have been

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Speaker 2: large gatherings, increased travel, in public activity, often in spaces

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Speaker 2: that are not used to so much activity. Authorities have

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Speaker 2: been on high alert monitoring a lot of public spaces.

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Speaker 2: I am joined now by Alderman JP Smith, who is

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Speaker 2: the Mayoral Committee member for Safety and Security with the

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Speaker 2: City of Cape Town. Thanks for your time on this

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Speaker 2: public holiday, JP.

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Speaker 1: You're welcome, and good morning to you and your listeners.

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Speaker 2: Very good morning to you as well. And right off

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Speaker 2: the top of the bat can can you tell us

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Speaker 2: if there were any major incidents that you feel we

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Speaker 2: should be aware of in Cape Town and surrounds, anything

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Speaker 2: that stands out to you.

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Speaker 1: We did, unfortunately, have indulged five people who were shot

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Speaker 1: in a drive by shooting and one of that was fatal.

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Speaker 1: And in Mannenburg offices, our officers came under at tech

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Speaker 1: from members of the public whilst they were busy with

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Speaker 1: enforcement activities. They were built it with stones and one

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Speaker 1: of them sustained some minor injuries. This unfortunately is not

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Speaker 1: an oncome uncommon occurrence. And then over this weekend we

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Speaker 1: started off our regular Easter activities in terms of ensuring

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Speaker 1: beach safety, the coordinated actions at beaches, keeping alcohol off

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Speaker 1: those beaches, and also making sure that visitors to the

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Speaker 1: mountains were safe. There was an integrated operational plan that

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Speaker 1: involved SAPs, Sand Parks, the then SRI I, the city

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Speaker 1: lifeguards and other entities within the enforcement clusters, and we

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Speaker 1: often partner with the local neighborhood watchers as well in

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Speaker 1: this regard. So that has been happening since the beginning

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Speaker 1: of the weekend, and I've been out for these services

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Speaker 1: as well, both in a ride along with the essay

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Speaker 1: the IF and our LEAP and SAPs in Mitchell's Plain

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Speaker 1: and at the beginning of the weekend with our ghost

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Speaker 1: squad who look at the liquor enforcement we were doing

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Speaker 1: checking for drunk drivers and making sure that we send

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Speaker 1: that message out loud and clear.

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Speaker 2: At the beginning of the weekend, right we just spoke

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Speaker 2: to Maxine Bizet note who boasted and it is a

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Speaker 2: bit of a boast that we had only twenty nine

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Speaker 2: arrests for drunk driving as opposed to how things over

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Speaker 2: two hundred, and I think that's if looking for good news,

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Speaker 2: that's pretty good News.

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Speaker 1: Yes, I think that in Cape Town you do see

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Speaker 1: sustained enforcement on these matters. On the average weekend. We

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Speaker 1: are doing forty to fifty arrests a year for alcohol

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Speaker 1: a weekend, and that people know that we will be

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Speaker 1: out there, anticipate seeing us out on road bots and otherwise.

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Speaker 1: We also stepped up the community cations are on that

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Speaker 1: last week to make sure people would be expecting that

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Speaker 1: in the hope of avoiding these incidents or rather than

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Speaker 1: dealing with the painful consequences.

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Speaker 2: Right now, you said that you were collaborating with other

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Speaker 2: law enforcement agencies, just like the NDF and the LEAP officers,

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Speaker 2: and I suppose put you know, in certain hotspot areas,

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Speaker 2: would you say that that high visibility policing was is

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Speaker 2: and was effective throughout the long weekend.

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Speaker 1: Yes, certainly the joint operation with the Essay Indie Iff

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Speaker 1: and steps in targeting gang heart spots. We took three suspects.

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Speaker 1: We arrested three suspects for illegal firearms. So I think

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Speaker 1: I'm watching how quickly the Essay Indie well in with

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Speaker 1: the operational plans, how quickly their members developed a working

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Speaker 1: relationship with ours. That was good to see in Mitchell's

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Speaker 1: plain and that the military members were immediately assisting and

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Speaker 1: adding value. And then, as always, tip offs are important.

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Speaker 1: We depend on information from the community, even for things

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Speaker 1: as mundane as dumping and in freigant that for instance,

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Speaker 1: led to the impoundment of a truck. When we arrived

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Speaker 1: at the home of the truck owner, the officers also

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Speaker 1: noticed that the property was being used to as a

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Speaker 1: shabbin and they confiscated a significant amount of alcohol and

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Speaker 1: find the owners. We think this week and this over

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Speaker 1: this weekend, we've impounded seven vehicles for dumping in public

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Speaker 1: spaces and this is important. The city spent over four

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Speaker 1: hundred million round the year on cleaning up dumping and littering,

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Speaker 1: and often these are caused by contractors and others who

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Speaker 1: agreed to dispose of material for people and then instead

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Speaker 1: of taking it to the tip site to the designated

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Speaker 1: dump sites, are simply dumping it in public spaces. Our

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Speaker 1: operation Exodus has also been very effective. They have been

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Speaker 1: testing buses and trailers and taxis before they go on

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Speaker 1: long distance trips and usually about a quarter of those

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Speaker 1: vehicles are failing. We're finding problems with brakes or tires

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Speaker 1: or other things, and that is making sure that those

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Speaker 1: vehicles don't leave that public transport interchange that rank before

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Speaker 1: those are addressed effectively. And then we also this week

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Speaker 1: focus stepped up our focus on pedestrians on the freeways.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes between eighty and ninety percent of our road fatalities

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Speaker 1: involving pedestrians are on a few small hotspots. Predictably along

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Speaker 1: in two and we find sixteen people for crossing that freeway,

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Speaker 1: so we're continuously stepping up that activity as well.

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Speaker 2: It's terrifying when they do that, and when I drive

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Speaker 2: that into and you find people running across the road

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Speaker 2: there as a driver, that's terrifying because you often don't

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Speaker 2: see them. We're speaking to Alderman, JP Smith Merril, Committee

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Speaker 2: Member for Safety and Security. Now, Jp, we've got two

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Speaker 2: more days left. Of course, We've got today and tomorrow,

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Speaker 2: and I say tomorrow because schools reopen on Wednesday and

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Speaker 2: so we'll likely see a staggered return of people from

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Speaker 2: their Easter long weekends. I assume your operations will continue

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Speaker 2: not only through today but also through tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: Yes, well, we will, of course have significant numbers of

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Speaker 1: people both leaving and exiting the city coming from a

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Speaker 1: weekend away or going to a weekend and some people

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Speaker 1: will have taken that extra days leave. And alcohol remains

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Speaker 1: a big focus, but so does distract driving, which in

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Speaker 1: most stats show to be more dangerous than driving under

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Speaker 1: the influence of alcohol. So we are continuing to impound

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Speaker 1: cell phones when we find drivers using them, especially texting

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Speaker 1: on them while they're driving. It's an extremely dangerous thing

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Speaker 1: to do because you are losing a second or two

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Speaker 1: on your reaction time while your eyes are down, and

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Speaker 1: that second or two is potentially a fatal accident. Well,

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Speaker 1: if someone has lost something you can't reverse.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and if someone's running across the end to that

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Speaker 2: second or two makes all the.

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Speaker 1: Difference, makes all the difference.

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Speaker 2: Aldman, JP Smith Merrill, Committee Member for Safety and Security

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Speaker 2: with the City of Cape Town. Thanks for your time,

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Speaker 2: all the best with your continued operations over the next

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Speaker 2: two days. I'm sure we'll get an update with you

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Speaker 2: later this week.

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Speaker 1: Again, you are very welcome and will be at it.

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Speaker 1: Just an interesting fact maybe, is that if you want

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Speaker 1: to know, one of the things that spikes significantly over

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Speaker 1: this time, and I know because I've personally been getting

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Speaker 1: these calls late at night and early in the morning

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Speaker 1: and people throughout the night to call it is noise complaints.

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Speaker 1: Those have spiked very significantly. So we have a lot

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Speaker 1: of pressure on us to attend to noise complaints with

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Speaker 1: people partying and doing other stuff at their homes and

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Speaker 1: disturbing their neighbors. And this is across the city. It

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Speaker 1: keeps us busy across different communities with complaints throughout this weekend.

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Speaker 2: Ah, so a lot of time spent shutting down parties

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Speaker 2: or quietening them down. Anyways. I think also in this

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Speaker 2: time where people are sort of away from home. You've

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Speaker 2: just mentioned noise complaints when people are at their houses,

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Speaker 2: but then of course I think there's the problem with

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Speaker 2: a lot of people being away from their houses. I

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Speaker 2: don't know, if I don't want to put you on

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Speaker 2: the spot with stats that you might not have, but

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Speaker 2: housebreaking surely might see a spike in this time as well,

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Speaker 2: because so many people leave home.

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Speaker 1: That may well be the case. I don't have statistics

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Speaker 1: for that, but you know, one of the things that

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Speaker 1: does help with property crime and captain are very active

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Speaker 1: communities and active neighborhood watches. Yeah, we are richly blessed

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Speaker 1: with those. If you look at the research from Professor

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Speaker 1: Rudolphson on this, you will see that house robbers themselves

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Speaker 1: indicate that neighborhood watches are a major deterrant against their actions,

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Speaker 1: as they will avoid areas with active neighborhood watches. So

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Speaker 1: it's important that communities also take responsibility for themselves. They

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Speaker 1: do the obvious things to avoid the house looking empty.

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Speaker 1: Make sure you arrange with your neighbors. Don't advertise the

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Speaker 1: fact that the house is standing unattended. Some some basic

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Speaker 1: safety precautions and arrangements with your the people who live

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Speaker 1: around you is always good. Where I live, my neighbor

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Speaker 1: has asked me to keep an iron his house for

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Speaker 1: him because he's away for the weekend, and I am

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Speaker 1: doing just that.

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Speaker 2: I think it's a huge help to inform your neighbors

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Speaker 2: when you're leaving, as you say, and to not leave

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Speaker 2: an obviously empty house. Alderman, thanks again for your time.

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Speaker 2: I do you appreciate it, and all the best with

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Speaker 2: the continued operations this week.

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Speaker 1: You're welcome and the safety safe return to to the

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Speaker 1: people listening. Wherever you're driving, do so safety, keep your

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Speaker 1: safety belt on, manage your following distance. That's a big

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Speaker 1: contributor to accidents, and of course speed is a fatal

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Speaker 1: contributor to accidents. So if you do those things though,

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Speaker 1: so think you yourself can control to ensure your safety.

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Speaker 2: Thank you absolutely, And I think a good note to

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Speaker 2: leave on, as you say, speed and texting and doing

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Speaker 2: things while you really should only be driving or only

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Speaker 2: be focusing on getting home safe after this long weekend.

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Speaker 2: If you are going to be on the roads throughout

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Speaker 2: today or tomorrow, please do so safely. I think, maxines

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Speaker 2: let us know that there's it's been pretty good out there.

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Speaker 2: Feedback has been a high level of compliance throughout the

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Speaker 2: city of KTWN, and that's amazing. And the aldermen here

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Speaker 2: reporting a couple of a couple of hectic incidents, but

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Speaker 2: I think as well, we've heard a lot worse on

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Speaker 2: other long weekends. So so far, I think sort of

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Speaker 2: it's looking pretty good so far