WC MEC appeals to citizens to report illegal activities, as LEAP officers arrests more than 1 100 suspects for various crimes

The Western Cape Police Oversight & Community Safety MEC, Reagen Allen, has appealed to citizens of the province, to report illegal activities, for a ‘safer Western Cape’.

This comes after Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers arrested more than 1 100 suspects, for various crimes, in January.

LEAP officers work alongside other law enforcement agencies, such as City of Cape Town, Metro Police and SAPS. Officers are deployed in crime hotspot areas in the metro, including, Delft, Gugulethu, Harare, Khayelitsha Mitchells Plain, and Nyanga, amongst others

Of the 1 103 suspects arrested, 694 were for being in possession of drugs.

COURTESY: WCG

 Officers also confiscated 17 firearms.

COURTESY: WCG

The Western Cape Government aims to halve the murder rate by 2029

 “The increase in the provincial murder rate as per the third quarter crime statistics for the 2023/24 financial year, clearly demonstrates the important role LEAP must play in combatting this trend. This is part of the reason why the WCG initiated the provincial safety plan in 2019 and activated LEAP in 2020. Our aim is to halve the murder rate by 2029,’’ said Reagen Allen, Western Cape Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC.

‘’An independent report, by the Institute of Security Studies, already indicates that between the four provinces of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern and Western Cape, - the Western Cape is the only province that has shown a decrease in the murder rate the last five years. Thanks to the dedicated work of our LEAP officers, I know that this trend will continue with the overall murder rate continuing to decrease in the next five years,’’ he added.

“I want to assure our residents that we will continue our efforts to make this the safest province in the country, as every person in the Western Cape should live in a safe and dignified environment. I urge all our residents to continue working with our LEAP officers so that we do not allow any criminal to get away with their illegal activities,” concluded Allen.

 

Done by: Mitchum George