Minister Marais encouraged by LEAP successes after double-up deployment
Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Anroux Marais, is encouraged by the recent successes of the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) since the decision taken last year to double-up the deployment of officers and resources in the areas of Cape Town worst affected by violent crime.
While policing is a national government function, it has such a dramatic impact on the lives of our residents that the Western Cape Government made a decision in 2019 to dedicate additional resources to safety through the Western Cape Safety Plan. The Western Cape Government`s LEAP programme is a collaboration with the City of Cape Town (CoCT) aimed at supporting the South African Police Service (SAPS), as well as municipal law enforcement.
In September 2024, the decision was taken to double-up LEAP deployment in areas of Cape Town with the highest murder rates. The aim of this new approach was to saturate problematic areas while also having a Roving Reaction Unit available to respond to other areas experiencing flare-ups in violent crime.
The provincial government’s assessment of the six-month period since the double-up deployment was initiated shows encouraging results when compared with data from previous months.
Out of the six LEAP deployment areas, four SAPS stations experienced decreases in homicides, with Gugulethu and Nyanga recording marked declines. Gugulethu recorded a 30% decrease in homicides for the comparative period while Nyanga recorded a 29% decrease.
Two SAPS stations experienced slight increases over the period under review. Delft recorded a 1,9% increase in homicides while Philippi East recorded a 9,1% increase. The data also indicates that LEAP deployment areas that are part of the Hotspot Policing Project showed the most significant improvements, with the exception of Delft which recorded an increase in homicides. The Hotspot Policing Project is a collaborative effort between the SAPS, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government, and supported by the Institute for Security Studies and the Hanns Seidel Foundation which tests evidence-based policing strategies in the precincts of Delft, Khayelitsha, Nyanga and Gugulethu.
The new deployment strategy also aided LEAP officers’ ability to confiscate more illegal firearms and ammunition with 53 firearm-related arrests made between 1 September 2024 and 31 March 2025, compared with 29 firearm-related arrests for the same period the previous year. Additionally, the total number of arrests which were made by LEAP Officers doubled, with 4931 suspects taken into custody compared with the 2339 arrests made in the same period the previous year.
Minister Marais said, “We will continue our efforts in fighting the scourge of violent crime in our province. LEAP serves as a very important force multiplier to the SAPS. I call on the National Police Commissioner to urgently address the chronic and ongoing understaffing at our police stations which is hindering our collective progress. I request the Minister of Police to facilitate the finalisation of the operational phase of the policing Memorandum of Understanding that was signed between the Western Cape Government, SAPS, and the City of Cape Town late last year. A more coordinated approach will drastically increase our collective ability to turn the tide against violent crime in our province.”
Media Enquiries:
Kurt Nefdt, Acting MLO to Minister Anroux Marais
Cell: 0842851975
Email: Kurt.Nefdt@westerncape.gov.za