Cape Town is urgently urging Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to reconsider and expand his recently proposed regulations aimed at enhancing municipal policing powers, reports Cape {town} Etc.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis made his stance clear this week following the minister’s publication of new draft regulations, which are now open for public comment over a period of 60 days starting from 10 June.
While Hill-Lewis commended the minister’s initial move, he expressed significant concern that the draft regulations remain vastly insufficient for the urgent needs of municipal police in the face of escalating crime rates.
‘We welcome the minister’s willingness to expand municipal policing powers, but the draft regulations are far too limited. Our officers need more than just the existing powers to search and arrest they need criminal investigative powers to build prosecution-ready case dockets,’ Hill-Lewis said.
This call for expansion comes at a time of increasing frustration from Cape Town communities who bear the brunt of rampant gang- and drug-related violence.
Hill-Lewis highlighted that without the necessary investigative powers, municipal officers are hamstrung in their capacity to secure convictions, noting the troubling statistic that the SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) managed to achieve convictions in merely 5% of the 1 670 cases involving illegal firearms seized by City officers in the last four years.
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To galvanise public support and advance its agenda, the City is preparing to propose crucial amendments to the draft regulations. These proposals have already undergone preliminary discussions with SAPS and other stakeholders at a regional level, demonstrating the City’s collaborative approach to addressing crime.
Alderman JP Smith, who oversees the Mayoral Committee for Safety and Security, reinforced the urgency of this request by highlighting the existing training initiatives aimed at equipping municipal police with the skills necessary for effective statement-taking and docket preparation.
‘We believe that our track record has shown that despite limited resources and policing powers, City police have made a massive impact in the fight against crime. With the necessary investigative powers, we are ready to do much more to improve the unacceptably low conviction rates,’ Smith said.
Since 2021, the City has actively invested in scaling its policing capabilities. This includes the deployment of over 1 200 officers to major crime hotspots through the LEAP (Law Enforcement Advancement Plan) initiative, in partnership with the Western Cape Government, and an additional 1 100 uniformed officers.
A notable upcoming deployment of 700 officers aims to enhance dedicated neighbourhood policing in every ward and provide escorts for service delivery teams in hazardous areas.
City says it has also spearheading a major R800 million investment in safety technology, which promises smarter policing innovations. This technological infusion includes advanced tools such as drones, dashcams, gunshot detection systems, aerial surveillance, and a digital coordinating system known as EPIC.
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City of Cape Town pushes for control over police investigations
Picture: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu
Source: City of Cape Town
