On Friday, 17 December 2021, a total of 210 Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) law enforcement officers completed their training, ahead of their official deployment. This will bring the total number of LEAP officers deployed to communities most affected by violent crime to approximately 1040.
The new LEAP officers will be deployed in Samora Marcel, Philippi East, Gugulethu and Atlantis. This is in addition to the LEAP officers currently deployed and stationed in Kraaifontein, Mitchells Plain, Delft, Harare, Philippi, Bishop Lavis, Nyanga, Mfuleni and Khayelitsha.
The deployment of LEAP officers is born out of the Western Cape Safety Plan, which aims to halve the murder rate in the province over the next 10 years. To achieve this, we are taking a data-led and evidence-based approach to policing, with an integrated violence prevention area-based approach in the province’s murder hotspots.
The Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde said: “Going forward, LEAP officers will continue to work jointly with the SAPS in the respective areas they are deployed, and I want to sincerely thank SAPS, under the leadership of the Provincial Commissioner, General Patekile, for their partnership and collaboration. LEAP officers will continue to be deployed based on crime threats and patterns identified by the SAPS to reduce the murder rate in the areas.”
The new cohort of LEAP officers will be operationally deployed once they are issued with appointment cards and firearms and are due to commence with their orientation from Monday, 20 December 2021. Upon deployment, the LEAP officers will be competent in:
- Tonfa training
- Pepper spray training
- Docket and statement capturing
- Stop and Approach training
- National Road Traffic Act training
- Powers and duties of a law enforcement officer and firearm training
Speaking to the contribution of the LEAP in making the city safer for all, the Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, said: “We know Cape Town cannot be the city of hopefulness and pride that we want it to be so long as people live in constant fear of violent crime. We are committed to doing more to make every Capetonian feel safer in their homes. That is why we have invested so much in deploying these new law enforcement officers in the hotspots around the city. It is such a pleasure to see this programme bear fruit, and why we are so grateful for the partnership with the Western Cape government in making LEAP happen. I am excited to see how the further investment in and expansion of the LEAP programme will make a real difference in reducing violent crime in Cape Town in the months and years ahead. We are also squarely focused on growing the economy in Cape Town, because we know the best way to work on the causes of crime is to lift people out of poverty and spread opportunity. These two together – a growing economy and safer communities – are the two most significant things we can do to build a functional, hopeful society.”
Premier Winde continued: “LEAP will continue to address the contributors to violent crime including drugs, unlicensed firearms and ammunition, enforcement of liquor regulations, monitoring parolees, tracing wanted suspects and identifying reports on crime threats through environmental design. I’m very happy to see, and while it is still early days, that the number of murders has decreased in areas where LEAP officers are deployed – making our communities safer.”
In so far as LEAP law enforcement successes are concerned, on Wednesday 15 December 2021, LEAP officers were on patrol in Hanover Park. At 02:00, officers saw two males walking in the street. When the two saw the officers, one of them started running. Officers split up and gave chase. Once the suspect was cornered, officers noticed that he had a gun in his hand. The officer confronting the suspect ordered him to put down the firearm. The suspect complied and was arrested. A firearm and eleven live rounds were confiscated.
This latest confiscation brings the total firearms confiscated for December to 9, while the total amount of firearms confiscated for the period 1 April 2021 to 5 December 2021, equals 153. For the same period, a total of 4125 arrests were made by LEAP officers. A total of 12 937 houses were searched, while 35 1459 suspicious persons were arrested, and 120 038 vehicles were searched. A total of 36 049 summonses were also issued by LEAP officers over the period.
Focusing on the success of LEAP since the programme’s inception, the Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz said: “I am really proud of the way in which LEAP officers have taken on the task of enhancing police visibility. The figures above, covering a nine-month period, tells a story of police presence in our crime hotspots. Would-be criminals in our crime hotspots now have to factor in confrontation with law enforcement, and that reinforces the fact that the Western Cape is a society of law and order. There are consequences for actions here.”
Minister Fritz concluded, “It has been a challenging year in many respects. But many colleagues in the entire team that works to make LEAP possible have done exceptional work. That goes especially for LEAP officers, including the command staff. I want to thank each of them for their hard work in bringing greater visible policing to our communities. But I also want to thank them for the work they do in bringing professional policing to our communities. Our communities need to be safe, but our citizens also need to be treated with dignity and respect. And I want to thank our teams for working towards ensuring that.”
Adding to the successes of LEAP and outlining the next steps for the deployment of LEAP officers in the Western Cape, the Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith said: “LEAP confiscated over 7 firearms in just the first two weeks of December and confiscated 20 illegal firearms during November. Each illegal gun taken off the street saves many lives. However, to really make an impact, it is imperative that we ensure criminal convictions for people caught with these illegal firearms and that is why the City is preparing to deploy investigators to each of the LEAP units to do watching briefs and follow up on firearm, drug and gang-related arrests to support a higher conviction rate of criminals involved in these cases.”
Alderman Smith concluded: “Two other big evolutions will be taking place. Firstly, the roll-out of handheld devices to many more Law Enforcement officers which will make them more effective, give them access to more information while they are out on the street and allow them to issue notices far more quickly and with greater accuracy. Secondly, we will be putting out to tender our eye-in-the-sky aerial surveillance tender which will allow us to achieve a bird’s eye view of crime, traffic, metal theft, poaching and fires on a level we have never been able to do before and many times more effectively than drones would permit.”