City of Cape Town’s anti-crime programme launched in Khayelitsha
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The City deployed the law enforcement advancement programme (Leap) in Site B, Khayelitsha, at the weekend. Picture: City of Cape Town/Supplied
Cape Town - The City deployed the law enforcement advancement programme (Leap) in Site B, Khayelitsha, at the weekend.
Three weeks ago, 100 officers were deployed there, and Mayco member for security and safety, JP Smith, said they were already making inroads.
Mayor Dan Plato and Smith led a walkabout at the Nolungile Mall, during which they spoke to business owners at the shopping centre and members of the public about how crime was affecting them.
Smith said the residents and business owners reported that the staff of businesses and customers were being mugged, and that people seeking protection fees came to the mall to extort money from businesses.
“The extortion thing is only going to go somewhere when the police start doing meaningful investigations and making convictions. We are not going to solve that problem through visible policing,” he said.
Smith said investigating officers, in the process of being shortlisted, would, in a month’s time, be sent to areas where Leap had been rolled out, to assist with investigations.
The secretary of the Site B Community Policing Forum (CPF), Phindile George, welcomed the deployment of the officers and said the area had been grappling with crime and had experienced a shortage of police vans.
“We hope their presence won’t be limited to issuing traffic fines and looking at refuse dumping, but will assist in combating violent crime in Khayelitsha.
“We will be engaging with the law enforcement unit to work with our neighbourhood watches (NHWs) and build a relationship that will be complementary to the SAPS, which the CPFs and NHWs are already working with,” he said.
George said crime-fighting resources in communities must be co-ordinated to create a a stronger law enforcement presence, instead of there being competition among law enforcement agencies.
“We urge all community members to be part of the NHWs as these are the only hope in stabilising our communities from ground level,” he said.
“We were also happy with … our NHWs as they are the ones doing the groundwork daily in the communities, and they are one of the most important components of crime-fighting as they understand the terrain in each corner of our communities.”
Plato said: “Supporting efforts to tackle crime is a collaborative effort and we are doing our best to improve safety and security in neighbourhoods in partnership with other spheres of government.”
Cape Argus