Crime stats: City notes moderate reduction in murder, Metro Police stand ready to improve convictions for gang, gun and drug affences
21 February 2026
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the City takes some encouragement from a moderate reduction in violent crime, particularly in LEAP deployment areas. He also reiterates that Metro Police stand ready to help the SAPS and NPA improve the conviction rate for gang, gun and drug crime given the high levels of violent crime evident in the latest Quarterly Crime Stats. The Mayor says while the forthcoming SANDF deployment can offer short-term relief, only more convictions will truly bring down violent crime sustainably
‘These latest crime stats again show that violent crime is concentrated in areas where gang activity has been raging for many months now.
‘We do take heart in the rise in illegal gun and drug confiscations in many precincts, especially areas where our LEAP officers are deployed to support SAPS, notably in Mitchells Plain, Delft and Manenberg, where big rises in confiscations occurred in the latest quarter. There is also a silver lining on the murder trend declining by around 5% on average in LEAP precincts within the Top 30 stations for murder over the last 12 months.
‘But this police action is not backed by a strong conviction rate. The City continues to support SAPS efforts by taking over 450 guns off the streets per year, but the conviction rate is just 5% in these cases due to the broken criminal justice system and under-resourced SAPS and NPA.
‘While we welcome the forthcoming SANDF deployment, it is only short-term. This is why we will keep pushing the President and Acting Police Minister to act now on real solutions to up gang crime convictions by devolving more powers to City police,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
The City’s full submission on expanding draft regulations for municipal policing powers, published by the National Police Minister, can be viewed here.
‘In the past four months, the City confiscated 119 illegal firearms, made over 4 500 arrests, and took more than 16 000 units of drugs off the streets. We can go further to build dockets and get convictions in these cases, but the President and Police Minister’s gate-keeping of safety needs to stop.
‘The City demands an end to delays in the devolution of investigation and forensic powers to City police so that more criminals can be convicted. The SANDF can stabilise, but only a functioning criminal justice system will keep communities safe,’ said Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
