Cape Town’s 700 new City police officers to hit the ground in Spring
24 July 2025
Cape Town’s 700 new City police officers will be ready for deployment this Spring, including dedicated neighbourhood policing for every ward. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis paid a visit to the officers in their final stages of training at the City’s Observatory college on 24 July, together with Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.
‘By this Spring, we are on track to deliver a historic first in Cape Town, with every single ward set to receive dedicated neighbourhood police officers, who I was glad to observe in their final training stages today before graduation.
‘The 700 new officers are a key investment in a safer Cape Town as part of the City’s new Invested in Hope Budget, alongside our SA-record R40bn infrastructure programme.
‘These officers will get to know the neighbourhood challenges, the goings-on, the problem buildings, and the residents themselves. This kind of personal policing, where relationships and trust are built, can only lead to more positive outcomes,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
The candidates completed an 18-month-long programme which included:
Traffic Officer course (12 months)
Metro Police officer training which included firearm competency training (three months).
Specialised training which included Neighbourhood Safety Officer training, evidence- based policing. Additional Tactical training, EPIC training
This group of cadets also received Civic Academy training
Officers were also put through their paces using the City’s cutting-edge fire arm simulator training. Officers will be assigned ‘EPIC’ hand-held devices for digital policing coordination and reporting of offences. They will also benefit from the bodycam rollout under way across the City’s policing services.
‘Besides dedicated neighbourhood policing in every ward, our new deployment will also include escort services for frontline service delivery teams in our most vulnerable communities where violent crime and extortion is a major challenge. The N2 will also benefit from a dedicated deployment to enhance safety along this critical highway route,’ said Alderman JP Smith.
The City continues to invest in growing its policing resources, including:
Over 1 200 officers deployed to major crime hotspots via the LEAP initiative in partnership with the Western Cape Government
Further growth of over 1 100 uniformed officers since 2021, including the upcoming deployment of 700 more officers to provide dedicated neighbourhood policing capacity in each ward and to escort service delivery teams in unsafe areas
A major R800m safety technology investment for smarter policing, including drones, dashcams, gunshot detection, CCTV, dashcams, bodycams, automated number-plate recognition, and the digital system to coordinate it all, known as EPIC.
Caption: Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis paid a visit to the officers in their final stages of training at the City’s Observatory college on 24 July, together with Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
