More LEAP officers to be deployed to six high crime areas in the Cape metro

More Law Enforcement Action Plan (LEAP) officers will be deployed to six high crime areas in the Cape metro as part of a trail redeployment strategy.

LEAP officers will double up in Delft, Khayelitsha, Phillipi East, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain and Gugulethu in a bid to tackle organised crime and extortion

In a joint statement by the Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town, said a reaction Unit of 120 members will assist in Hanover Park, Manenberg, Atlantis, Kraaifontein, Elsies River and other areas which will not have permanently stationed LEAP officers, to immediately prevent flare-ups and assist SAPS and the City’s Metro Police, especially in the areas where gunshot detection technology is deployed.

“The LEAP programme must always remain dynamic in adapting to the needs of the ever-changing war against crime. The changed strategy will deploy more LEAP officers to the worst crime-affected areas for maximum impact against crime, while the Rapid Reaction Unit will ensure an immediate response to a flare-up in any other part of Cape Town,” said Anroux Marais, Western Cape Police Oversight & Community Safety MEC.

Since 2020, the Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town have deployed more than a thousand LEAP officers in Cape Town. The Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town deployed LEAP members as a force multiplier to the South African Police Service (SAPS)LEAP officers are part of the provincial government’s safety plan. The plan aims to decrease the murder rate by 50% by 2029.

“The tough reality is that SAPS in the Western Cape is under-staffed and under-funded. In March 2024 we had 16 424 SAPS officers deployed to our province with 1 757 vacancies, but actually what we need is to dramatically increase SAPS policing numbers by the thousands to make a real difference on our streets and in our communities,” added Marais. 

‘’LEAP will redeploy members to focus on six precincts. The decision was made in consultation with the South African Police Service after a successful trial in Delft in 2023, and guided by the following factors: murder statistics, operational imperatives, and the past twelve quarterly crime stats releases.’’

‘’Critical lessons have been learnt since the initial deployment of LEAP and the recently signed cooperation agreement with SAPS allows the LEAP partners to reconsider the deployment patterns and explore different strategies to make Cape Town safer. The Western Cape Safety Plan is based on data and empirical evidence, and testing different approaches to tackling crime. We must be willing to take the lessons that we learn, apply it and approach the complex crime problem from as many angles as we can.” said Marais.

Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, reflected on the successes by LEAP officers.

“The LEAP programme has had remarkable successes since its launch in 2019, with 595 unlicensed firearms removed from the streets of Cape Town and 34 079 arrests conducted. The need for a targeted approach is required in order to combat a new wave of organised crime, perpetrated by groups that have become increasingly bold and ruthless in their tactics.”

“The City has increasingly been investing in technology as a force multiplier and this will be a critical addition in our efforts to disrupt syndicates and gangs that are turning our communities into war zones,” added Smith.

 

Done By: Mitchum George