There are currently 1 040 officers deployed in the metro, however, since September 18 it was stated that Leap officers were doubled up, and a reaction unit in areas such as Hanover Park and Kraaifontein where there are no LEAP officers.
The Western Cape Safety Plan came under fire from opposition parties in the provincial legislature who claimed it failed to address high levels of crime.
This follows mass murders where 15 people were killed last month.
In the span of a few days, seven people were gunned down in Bishop Lavis, five people shot and killed in Atlantis and the bodies of three people with gunshot wounds found in Site C, Khayelitsha.
A debate in the legislature started with a moment of silence requested by National Coloured Congress (NCC) MPL Dawayne Jacobs for people killed in the shootings, including more than ten children.
“The provincial department working with the City embarked on the so-called Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap) officers. There are currently 1 040 officers deployed in the metro, however, since September 18 it was stated that Leap officers were doubled up, and a reaction unit in areas such as Hanover Park and Kraaifontein where there are no LEAP officers. It can never be a norm that we had 21 violent murders in six days. The Western Cape Safety Plan has been a huge failure because today we can see the results of that,” said Jacobs.
EFF Chief Whip Aishah Cassiem said the assertion that the Western Cape is a crime den was a “fact” backed by evidence and statistics.
“It was clear that when we reached the decade mark of this DA-lead province, and saw little intervention on drugs and gangsterism, back then already, especially in coloured and African communities, it was clear that there would not be much effort, thereafter.”
Social Development MEC Jaco Londt said while opposition parties blamed the DA in the province for the high crime rate, it was a police mandate.
Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais said in order to ensure that no area is left behind, they created a Leap Rapid Response Unit to deal with flare-ups in other hotspots all over Cape Town.
“The contribution of our Leap officers makes me very proud. Since 2022 they have already carried out 31 764 arrests. Of their many successes I am perhaps happiest about the 538 illegal firearms on which our Leap members have been for the past two years seized. The strategy to double up in six areas and have a Rapid Response Unit will be reviewed after six months, once we have seen its impact on the data, and thus know whether it works,” said Marais.
She said the first big change in the crime-fighting environment was the Government of National Unity including the political, legislative and practical implementation levels.
Marias praised the appointment of Senzo Mchunu as Police Minister in the place of Bheki Cele.
“One of the manifestations of this spirit of co-operation has been the much publicised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the national government, the Western Cape Government, the South African Police Service and the City of Cape Town. It gives me much joy to report to you that the process of writing and agreeing to the Implementation Agreement is progressing very well, and the practical benefits to the people of the Western Cape will be felt soon,” said Marias.
She also stated that they were in communication with Minister of Correctional Services, Pieter Groenewald, to initiate a regulatory or legislative change over the issue of parolees who become reoffenders.
Cape Times
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