The three spheres of government have committed to work together in combating crime in the Western Cape.
This was revealed on Tuesday as Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and National Police Commissioner General Fanie Masemola met with community police forums and neighbourhood watch members at a town hall meeting.
The plan to work as a collective unit with the City of Cape Town and Western Cape Government was laid out and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) is expected to be signed on Friday.
However it was noted that this is not an agreement to devolve police power in the province.
Masemola said they plan to maximise the use of the resources.
“Policing requires both quality and quantity. Technology will help us with smart policing. We are pleading with the City to ensure that all cameras are in working condition.”
Masemola explained that policing precinct would be divided into six sub districts - Khayelitsha, Tygerberg, Cape Town, Nyanga, Mitchell's Plain and Wynberg, with each consisting of 8 to 15 police stations.
Mchunu said he wrote to Mayor Geordin Hill Lewis “and we had a warm, constructive and progressive discussion.”
He would also work with other roleplayers such as the Department of Correctional Services and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The City’s Safety and Security boss JP Smith welcomed the agreement, saying: “This is a long awaited day. When we started working on the Safer Cities Agreement some 2-3 years ago, the climate was perhaps not ready for formal agreements. The GNU (Government of National Unity) set the stage for a different period in cooperation and collaboration.
“Every quarter when the crime stats come out I am filled with sadness but also anger for the tragedies that are concealed by something as innocuous as columns of figures. Behind those grim stats lie broken lives, tears, trauma and misery along with loss of opportunities and freedom.”
He said great opportunities exist for the City to integrate communications systems like the radio networks and give SAPS access to their Computer Aided Dispatch.
“Good work and collaboration has already started to be done on economic crimes and the plague of extortion syndicates, much more can and must still be achieved to stop these syndicates.”
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za