Cape Town – At least 700 new City police officers will be ready for deployment this Spring, including dedicated neighbourhood policing for every ward.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis paid a visit to the officers in their final stages of training at the City’s Observatory college on 24 July, together with Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.
“By this Spring, we are on track to deliver a historic first in Cape Town, with every single ward set to receive dedicated neighbourhood police officers, who I was glad to observe in their final training stages today before graduation,” said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
“The 700 new officers are a key investment in a safer Cape Town as part of the City’s new Invested in Hope Budget, alongside our SA-record R40bn infrastructure programme.
“These officers will get to know the neighbourhood challenges, the goings-on, the problem buildings, and the residents themselves.
“This kind of personal policing, where relationships and trust are built, can only lead to more positive outcomes.”
The candidates completed an 18-month-long 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 and evidence-based policing. Additional Tactical training, EPIC training
- This group of cadets also received Civic Academy training.
Officers were also put through their paces using the City’s cutting-edge firearm simulator training.
Officers will be assigned “EPIC” hand-held devices for digital policing coordination and reporting of offences.
They will also benefit from the bodycam rollout underway across the City’s policing services.
“Besides dedicated neighbourhood policing in every ward, our new deployment will also include escort services for frontline service delivery teams in our most vulnerable communities where violent crime and extortion are a major challenge,” said Alderman JP Smith.
“The N2 will also benefit from a dedicated deployment to enhance safety along this critical highway route.”
Mayor Hill-Lewis said the City of Cape Town 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 upcoming deployment of 700 more officers to provide dedicated neighbourhood policing capacity in each ward and to escort service delivery teams in unsafe areas
- A major R800m 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.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said it was “proud to welcome over 700 extra Metro Police officers to the front lines of crime prevention” in Cape Town, which the party runs.”
“This major deployment, part of the City’s bold Project 1000, is a way for a capable and committed local government to step in where the South African Police Service (SAPS) is failing,” the DA said in a statement made available to The Bulrushes.
The DA said that while the South African Police Service remains overstretched and under-resourced, with management issues, leadership problems, and political meddling.
“The City of Cape Town under the DA is plugging the gap by putting more boots on the ground,” said Lisa Schickerling, MP DA and deputy spokesperson, on Police
“Safety of residents where we govern is of paramount importance to us.”
MP Schickerling said the new Metro Police deployment for Cape Town will mean that five new officers will be on the ground for every ward in Cape Town, to not only patrol their neighbourhoods but also to build trust with residents and respond fast when trouble arises.
“This marks a new era of visible, localised policing that SAPS has been unable to deliver,” MP Schickerling said.
“The DA warmly welcomes that among these 700-plus officers will be a dedicated team deployed to patrolling the N2 highway to enhance safety along this critical route.
“These Metro Police officers will play a crucial support role in gang-affected areas. The DA refuses to accept that gang violence cannot be beaten with effective policing.”
While Metro Police officers may not have the investigative powers of SAPS, they have been trained on evidence-based policing, and have tactical training too, said MP Schickerling.
“We welcome that they will all have completed firearm competency training, too,”‘ MP Schickerling said.
“The City of Cape Town’s cutting-edge firearm simulator training is a fantastic DA-government intervention to make sure officers in the City are trained to the highest standards.
“The City of Cape Town is not waiting for national government to fix policing. Under DA-governance, the City of Cape Town is taking action against crime.”
