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The DA in Khayelitsha welcomes the successes by the Law Enforcement Advancement Programme (LEAP), along with the South African Police Services (SAPS), in tackling crime in Khayelitsha.

During the Talking Truth to Power television programme on Enca, hosted by Prof JJ Tabane this week, the Mayoral Committee Member of Safety in the City of Cape Town, JP Smith, revealed that the statistics of crime in Khayelitsha have shown a steady decline, largely due to the collaboration efforts between LEAP and SAPS.

During the television programme, members of the community expressed their frustrations about crime in Khayelitsha, the low police-to-resident ratio, the lack of collaboration in dealing with crime, CCTV cameras that aren’t working, and community patrollers who are not adequately equipped by SAPS to perform their duties efficiently.

Whilst the City of Cape Town is spending its limited budget towards tackling crime, Smith reiterated that policing is not the City’s core function, adding that national government had much more substantial budgets and should start contributing to the costs of expanding the CCTV camera network as well as other technologies like gunfire detection.

The City of Cape Town is, however, doing its best to step into the gaps left by receding resources and capacity in SAPS and to complement the low police-to-resident ratio in Khayelitsha, targeting crime hotspots. Smith also welcomed his directorate’s collaboration with SAPS in tackling crime in the city, praising Provincial Commissioner Patekile for his work.

The DA in Khayelitsha remains concerned about the incidents of crime and GBV in Khayelitsha, and we call on the SAPS in Khayelitsha to increase their efforts. Residents are very upset with the low conviction rate of these offenders.

While the DA in Khayelitsha sympathizes with citizens on matters of crime, SAPS must be decentralized and control devolved to the City or Province to ensure better coordination of functions and execution of tasks, alongside LEAP and other community policing forums in the province.

Issued by Noko Masipa MP - DA Constituency Head, Khayelitsha