The City of Cape Town has, so far over the festive season, reunited 227 children with their loved ones as part of its Identikidz Programme.
The Identikidz project allows children to be tagged on
arrival at the beach, with a band containing their caregiver’s details. In the
event that a child gets separated from their family, responders can use the
contact information to reunite them. Identikidz is implemented at
15 of Cape Town’s busiest beaches over the festive season, as well as Maiden’s
Cove on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
At the same time, the City said five children were handed
over to the Department of Social Development (DSD) as their caregivers were not
located by end of the beach day. During the same period last year, 256 children
were reunited and 11 handovers to DSD.
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PICTURE: City of Cape TownIn a statement, the City said the Identikidz Programme has
registered 101 780 children at participating beaches over the peak festive
season – a 13,5% increase compared to the previous year when 89 689 children
were registered during the same period.
Beaches along the False Bay coast have the highest number
of registrations – notably Strand, Strandfontein and Muizenberg. The programme
concludes on Sunday, 18 January 2026.
Since October 2025, there have been 23 non-fatal drownings
at Cape Town’s beaches, each of which could have ended in tragedy if lifeguards
had not rescued them. Five fatal drownings – three of which were
bathing-related and two others which are the subject of police investigations –
were recorded along Cape Town’s coastline.
‘’The statistics are a stark reminder that while our
coastline is a wonderful attraction over summer, it needs to be approached with
care and consideration. I want to commend each and every person who has had a
hand in our festive season operations, from staff members to beachgoers and
parents. Your support of our drowning prevention and child safety initiatives
is a key reason why we have experienced one of our safest seasons yet,’’ said
Francine Higham, MMC for community Services & Health.
‘’That said, summer is not over – in fact, we are expecting
another bumper beach weekend as the holiday season winds down, so I encourage
and remind everyone to continue keeping safety top of mind, and to use the
resources that we have made available in support of public safety,’’ he added.
Done by: Shaneca Cupido
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