Cape Town, Western Cape double the number of LEAP officers deployed

Safety plan based on data, evidence and testing different approaches to crime

The Cape Town and the Western Cape governments are doubling the numbers of law enforcement advancement plan (LEAP) officers deployed in the city’s hotspots to tackle extortion syndicates.

Anroux Marais, the MEC for police oversight and community safety, and Cape Town MMC for safety and security JP Smith made the announcement on Tuesday.

Marais said, “LEAP members serve as a force multiplier to the SAPS due to the continued failure by the national government to perform its constitutional duty regarding the deployment of police officers to keep the public safe.

“The tough reality is that policing in the Western Cape is understaffed and underfunded. 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 numbers by the thousands to make a real difference on our streets and in our communities,” said Marais.

He said the province's safety plan was based on data, empirical evidence and testing different approaches to tackling crime.

“We must be willing to apply the lessons we learn and approach the complex crime problem from as many angles as we can.”

Marais said the city and province “have therefore initiated a double-up trial redeployment for LEAP to proactively combat the evolving organised crime and extortion syndicates plaguing communities in our crime hotspots”.

Marais said LEAP will redeploy members to focus on six precincts. He said the decision was made in consultation with the police after a successful trial in Delft in 2023, and guided by the following factors: murder statistics, operational imperatives and the past 12 quarterly crime statistics releases.

“As a result of this double-up trial, Delft, Khayelitsha, Phillipi East, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain and Gugulethu will receive increased deployments for the trial period.

“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 help the SAPS and the city’s metro police, especially in the areas where gunshot detection technology is deployed.”

Smith said since the LEAP programme began in 2019, 595 unlicensed firearms had been confiscated in Cape Town, and 34,079 arrests had been made.

“A targeted approach is required to combat a new wave of organised crime, perpetrated by groups that have become increasingly bold and ruthless in their tactics,” said Smith.

He said the city had increasingly been investing in technology as a force multiplier, and this would be a critical addition to the city's efforts to disrupt syndicates and gangs that were turning communities into war zones.

“I will be in constant contact with the provincial SAPS leadership to ensure that we work closely during this double-up trial redeployment to ensure that when issues arise they are addressed and that we find ways to replicate the successes elsewhere.”

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