Cape Town - In celebrating the successes of its LEAP community safety and shadow policing initiative, the Western Cape government revealed that it is making notable inroads into achieving its bold mission to reduce the murder rate by 50% come 2029.
Western Cape Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen shared the sentiment while commending leading officials steering the LEAP initiative following the announcement of the project’s recent successes during April 2023.
The Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) is an initiative of the Western Cape government and is run in partnership with the City of Cape Town.
According to the Department of Police Oversight and Community, between April 3 and April 30, 2023, LEAP forces on the ground arrested 1 044 individuals for various offences and confiscated 26 firearms.
Seventeen of the confiscated firearms were unlawful and nine were imitation firearms, according to the LEAP reports.
“Criminals should know that our LEAP officers will continue to do everything possible to create safer communities. Ensuring safer areas for our residents to live in remains a primary priority. This is part of the reason why the Western Cape Safety Plan was introduced in 2019,” Allen said.
Following the adoption of the safety plan, LEAP units were strategically deployed into several stressor communities identified through the plan’s evidence-based data.
“This approach is also used as part of monitoring and evaluation to determine the effectiveness of LEAP and inform a cycle of continuous improvement.
“This includes our top 10 murder areas in the Western Cape, such as Delft, Gugulethu, Harare, Khayelitsha (Site B policing precinct), Kraaifontein, Mfuleni, Mitchells Plain, Nyanga, Philippi East and Samora Machel.
“Other high crime areas in which they are deployed are Atlantis, Bishop Lavis and Hanover Park, along with Lavender Hill, Steenberg and Grassy Park. We all have a role to play in eradicating crime, and the more we work together towards this goal, the greater our joint successes will be,” Allen said.
During the previous record period, LEAP officers also searched 39 153 persons, and 1 311 houses, conducted 316 roadblocks and searched about 3 560 vehicles. Among others, LEAP arrests included 16 for the possession of illegal firearms, seven for the possession of imitation firearms, 43 for the possession of dangerous weapons and 763 for the possession of drugs.
LEAP officers work alongside law enforcement agencies, inclusive of the City of Cape Town’s other law enforcement agencies, the SAPS, neighbourhood watches and community policing forums.