The Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town has announced a “double up” trial deployment of LEAP officers to areas battling with rampant violence.
Over 1 000 Law Enforcement Action Plan (LEAP) officers have been trained and deployed in Cape Town.
The WCG and the City said this was done as a “force multiplier” to the South African Police Service (SAPS) due continued failure by the national government to perform its constitutional duty.
Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais said the reality was that SAPS in the Western Cape were 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 SAPS policing numbers by the thousands to make a real difference on our streets and in our communities.”
The newly deployed LEAP officers will focus on combatting organised crime and extortion syndicates in six precincts.
This comes following a trial in Delft in 2023, and which had been guided by the following factors: murder statistics, operational imperatives, and the past 12 quarterly crime stats releases.
The redeployment strategy is expected to be assessed and revised after six months.
Delft, Khayelitsha, Philippi 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 assist SAPS and the City’s Metro Police, especially in the areas where gunshot detection technology is deployed.
Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith said: “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.”
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