The City of Cape Town’s Identikidz child safety programme recorded its strongest festive season to date over the New Year’s long weekend, with registrations surpassing 100 000 for the first time.
A total of 101 780 children were registered at participating Cape Town beaches during the peak holiday period, marking a 13.5% increase from the 89 689 registrations recorded over the same period last season.
Over 100 000 children registered with Identikidz
Despite busy beaches and high surf activity, the number of lost children incidents declined.
This season, 227 children were lost and reunited with caregivers, while five were handed over to the Department of Social Development (DSD) after caregivers could not be located by the end of the beach day. Last season saw 256 reunions and 11 DSD handovers.
The Identikidz programme was run at 15 of Cape Town’s busiest beaches over the festive season, with additional operations at Maiden’s Cove on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Beaches along the False Bay coast, including Strand, Strandfontein and Muizenberg, recorded the highest number of registrations. The programme is set to conclude on Sunday, 18 January 2026.
Drownings see decline
The City also revealed that since October 2025, 23 non-fatal drowning incidents have been recorded at Cape Town beaches, all of which required lifeguard intervention.
Five fatal drownings have also been reported along the coastline. Three were bathing-related, while two remain under police investigation.
All fatal drownings occurred outside designated bathing areas.
More than half of the non-fatal drowning incidents involved children aged between six and 17. Most incidents were recorded along the False Bay coast, including four at Strand, four at Clovelly and three at Fish Hoek.
Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Francine Higham, said the figures show the impact of drowning prevention and child safety initiatives.
“While our coastline is a wonderful attraction over summer, it needs to be approached with care and consideration,” she said, adding that the festive season had been one of the safest yet.
Higham warned that summer was not over and urged beachgoers to remain vigilant ahead of another busy beach weekend as the holiday season draws to a close.
