Hundreds of new Metro Police officers graduate in Cape Town
09 September 2025
The City of Cape Town today celebrated the graduation parade of over 700 new City police officers who will in the coming weeks begin their deployment across the city. This new deployment includes dedicated neighbourhood policing for every ward, an historic first. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis joined new Metro Police officers at their graduation parade on 9 September together with Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.
The
City’s new deployment is the largest investment in new boots on the ground in
over a decade. It will include neighbourhood policing for every ward, a
dedicated unit for the N2/Airport precinct, and more protection escorts for
frontline service delivery teams in crime hotspots.
‘As
a City making major investments in policing resources, we are sending a clear
message today to our partners in SAPS and national government: we are here to
help make Cape Town safer. These new officers are set to make a big impact in
every ward, along the N2, and in communities protecting our frontline staff.
‘While
City police already have the powers to search, arrest and prevent crime, the
time has come for more policing powers – specifically to investigate crime and
build dockets – so that we can ensure the 400 guns we take off the streets
annually lead to actual convictions and removal of criminals from the streets
of long-suffering communities. Right now, our broken criminal justice system
secures convictions in just 5% of these cases, but we know this can
dramatically improve once we get more policing powers for our officers.
‘We
are encouraged by Acting National Police Minister Firoz Cachalia’s openness to
the idea of more policing powers for City police. On Thursday, we will meet the
Acting Minister in Cape Town to set out the case for the City and SAPS working
hand-in-hand to gain more convictions, especially in the fight against gang,
gun, and drug crime,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
New Metro Police recruits completed an 18-month
learnership 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
‘As far back as 2018, I have been working to find a
way to deliver on this goal. Not just to respond to complaints and
undertake pre-planned operations across an entire Metro Police district, but to
have a permanent presence in each ward. The opportunity and funding just
never aligned until now.
‘This investment is a declaration, it is a clear
message to the criminals who have held our communities hostage, your time is running
out. A line is being drawn in the sand between lawlessness and order,
between fear and safety, between silence and accountability. The City is
stepping up once more, every day we will work to ensure that decent and good
people can again own their communities and feel safe at home and on the
street,’ 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 new deployment of 700 more officers this spring
A major 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.
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
