Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently devolve more policing powers to competent local authorities. This follows the President’s commitment in the ANC January 8th statement that national government would ‘take urgent steps to enhance the crime-fighting capacity of law enforcement agencies by increasing the number of police personnel to match our country’s population increase’. Read more below:

The City of Cape Town has a pending request with the Ministers of Justice and Police for more policing powers to be devolved to the metro’s well-trained law enforcement agencies. To date, both Ministers have failed to respond, and attempts to escalate this to the President have so far fallen on deaf ears. This is despite the immediate and positive impact devolving policing powers would have in helping communities living in daily fear of crime.

SAPS sorely needs assistance given that 71% of Western Cape police stations have seen a decline in police personnel in the past five financial years.

‘Cape Town would welcome improved SAPS resourcing as per the President’s commitment yesterday. This is especially needed in high crime areas. But the City is already able to do more to immediately help SAPS fight crime should President Ramaphosa devolve more policing powers to our well-trained municipal enforcement agencies.

‘We are already taking guns and drugs off the streets every day, and more powers would enable us to build prosecution-ready case dockets to gain convictions. A declaration by the Justice Minister would get this done immediately, and a SAPS Act amendment would further consolidate progress. We call on the President to devolve more policing powers to well-run local authorities without delay as this will be a quick win to make communities safer in addition to growing SAPS resources over time,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

Peace officer powers are currently granted to municipal law enforcement under the Criminal Procedure Amendment Act. More policing powers for well-run local authorities simply requires the issuing of another declaration by the Justice Minister – as was done in 2018 when more powers were conferred to municipal law enforcement. Further progress would be possible through amending the SAPS Act to expand the definition of criminal investigation to include municipal agencies in this mandate.

Mayor Hill-Lewis added that police resourcing is about more than just officers, and extends to vehicles, computers and cutting edge safety technology.

Cape Town is leading the way in the use of data and tech – from drones to dashcams – which we can avail to enhance policing efficiency.

The City is investing in more than 230 new law enforcement and metro police officers in this financial year alone, and hundreds of millions of rands in crime fighting tech in the city – from cameras to drones to gunshot location technology, with a record R5,4bn Safety budget in 2022/23.

Municipal Law Enforcement has more than tripled its arrest rate in recent years due to increased investment, with 50% of these arrests being drug-related.

In partnership with the Western Cape Government, the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) has collectively delivered 1 200 new officers in communities impacted by high crime rates, including Delft, Nyanga, Khayelitsha (Site C), Philippi (inclusive of Hanover Park), Bishop Lavis, Mfuleni, Harare, Gugulethu, Kraaifontein, Mitchells Plain, Atlantis, Philippi East, and Samora Machel.

LEAP officers have made 8 500 arrests overall between their first deployment in February 2020 and July 2022, the end of the 2021/22 financial year. Including the efforts of Metro Police and the Traffic Service, the City has removed close to 400 firearms in total off the streets in the past financial year. With these achievements, our officers are already helping the SAPS reduce murders and other violent crimes.

‘In Cape Town, we believe there is not only a constitutional case, but a human case, to devolve these powers immediately. I have assured both the ministers of police and justice, and President Ramaphosa that our fight is with criminals, not politicians.

‘Residents should not have to live in daily fear of violent crime, and children should feel safe to play outside. That is the Cape Town we are striving towards, where there is freedom of movement for residents and a chance at a better life,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

Source: City Of Cape Town