‘President Ramaphosa has clearly not been reading our letters based on his comments in the National Assembly today. The City is not asking for control over SAPS. While the Constitution makes provision for a single police service, it presents several options for devolving policing powers to provincial and local level. In fact, these options have already been used under President Ramaphosa in 2018, when some policing powers were devolved. The Justice Minister simply needs to issue a declaration – as already done in 2018 – conferring more policing powers to municipal law enforcement under the Criminal Procedure Act. In terms of that declaration, our officers may now conduct arrests, searches, and investigations into various offences related to firearms, drugs and trafficking, laws governing building safety and protecting public property, municipal by-laws, traffic, and liquor. 

Since then, the City and Western Cape Government have together funded 1,200 extra LEAP officers deployed to the 11 worst crime hotspots in our city. Increased municipal law enforcement investment has more than tripled the arrest rate in the past five years, with 50% of those being drug-related arrests. Even more can be achieved should further policing powers be devolved. Our officers are already out there taking guns and drugs off the streets daily, but with more policing powers they can build prosecution-ready case dockets, gain convictions, and bring lasting change for residents living in daily fear of violent crime,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

The Mayor said devolving more policing powers to well-trained municipal law enforcement officers is an immediate way to help SAPS fight crime, given that 71% of Cape police stations are under-resourced. This can be bolstered by an amendment to the SAPS Act to expand the definition of criminal investigation to include municipal enforcement agencies.

‘We are asserting our policing and crime prevention role on behalf of every Capetonian who deserves to feel safer in their neighbourhood, and to have freedom of movement without fear of violent crime. This is about people not politics, and we urge the President and Ministers of Justice and Police to use the simple, constitutional mechanisms available to devolve more policing powers so that we can help SAPS fight crime. We believe there is both a constitutional case and a human case to devolve more policing powers to local government,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

The Mayor said he would directly engage the President to ascertain whether the comments in Parliament today explicitly rule out any intention for Cabinet to issue a follow-up to their 2018 Criminal Procedure Act Declaration, or to amend the SAPS Act, to better enable municipal law enforcement to collaborate in the fight against crime.

End