Between 29 January and 3 March 2024, Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers arrested 1 155 individuals for various crimes and confiscated 10 firearms while being deployed in crime hotspots across the province, according to a recently released media statement by the Western Cape Government.
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LEAP, part of the Western Cape Safety Plan (WCSP), is a collaboration between the Western Cape Government (WCG), the City of Cape Town (CoCT), and multiple law enforcement agencies, including SAPS, neighbourhood watches, community policing forums, and other stakeholders.
LEAP is only deployed in areas that are most affected by crime and that have the highest murder rates in the Western Cape. Delft, Gugulethu, Harare, Khayelitsha (Site B policing precinct), Kraaifontein, Mfuleni, Mitchells Plain, Nyanga, Philippi East, and Samora Machel fall on this list.
‘As the WCG, we initiated the WCSP and by extension LEAP, to achieve greater safety in our hotspot areas and ultimately the whole of the Western Cape,’ said Reagen Allen, Western Cape minister of police oversight and community safety.
‘These successes show how our officers are continuing to disrupt criminal activity where they are deployed,’ he added.
Among the 10 firearms confiscated were:
- 2 Pistols and 1 firearm in Bishop Lavis
- 1 Pistol and 1 firearm in Delft
- 1 Rifle in Gugulethu
- 1 Pistol in Khayelitsha
- 1 Zip gun in Kraaifontein
- 1 Revolver in Manenberg and
- 1 Pistol in Philippi
The arrests were:
- 8 for the possession of illegal firearms
- 12 for the possession of imitation firearms, including zip guns
- 53 for the possession of dangerous weapons
- 767 for the possession of drugs and
- 23 for dealing in drugs
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