The City’s new deployment is the largest investment in new boots on the ground in over a decade. It will include neighbourhood policing for every ward, a dedicated unit for the N2/Airport precinct, and more protection escorts for frontline service delivery teams in crime hotspots.
‘As a City making major investments in policing resources, we are sending a clear message today to our partners in SAPS and national government: we are here to help make Cape Town safer. These new officers are set to make a big impact in every ward, along the N2, and in communities protecting our frontline staff.
‘While City police already have the powers to search, arrest and prevent crime, the time has come for more policing powers – specifically to investigate crime and build dockets – so that we can ensure the 400 guns we take off the streets annually lead to actual convictions and removal of criminals from the streets of long-suffering communities. Right now, our broken criminal justice system secures convictions in just 5% of these cases, but we know this can dramatically improve once we get more policing powers for our officers.
‘We are encouraged by Acting National Police Minister Firoz Cachalia’s openness to the idea of more policing powers for City police. On Thursday, we will meet the Acting Minister in Cape Town to set out the case for the City and SAPS working hand-in-hand to gain more convictions, especially in the fight against gang, gun, and drug crime,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
New Metro Police recruits completed an 18-month learnership programme which included:
- Traffic Officer course (12 months)
- Metro Police officer training which included firearm competency training (three months).
- Specialised training, which included Neighbourhood Safety Officer training, evidence-based policing. Additional Tactical training, EPIC training
- This group of cadets also received Civic Academy training
‘As far back as 2018, I have been working to find a way to deliver on this goal. Not just to respond to complaints and undertake pre-planned operations across an entire Metro Police district, but to have a permanent presence in each ward. The opportunity and funding just never aligned until now.
‘This investment is a declaration, it is a clear message to the criminals who have held our communities hostage, your time is running out. A line is being drawn in the sand between lawlessness and order, between fear and safety, between silence and accountability. The City is stepping up once more, every day we will work to ensure that decent and good people can again own their communities and feel safe at home and on the street,’ said Alderman JP Smith.
The City continues to invest in growing its policing resources, including:
- Over 1 200 officers deployed to major crime hotspots via the LEAP initiative in partnership with the Western Cape Government
- Further growth of over 1 100 uniformed officers since 2021, including the new deployment of 700 more officers this spring
- A major safety technology investment for smarter policing, including drones, dashcams, gunshot detection, CCTV, dashcams, bodycams, automated number-plate recognition, and the digital system to coordinate it all, known as EPIC.