Police Oversight and Community Safety
Question by Hon S A Little
With regard to his statement that LEAP is making inroads with LEAP officers making 27 000 arrests that will reduce the murder rate in the Western Cape by 50% by 2029:
- What are the factual details that informs this statement, (b)(i) what are the details per police station where these arrests have been made, (ii) what were the crimes committed in each case and (iii) how many cases were successfully prosecuted and sentenced?
The reply of the Cape Town Metro Police Department (CTMPD):
2. (a) This statement is based on the arrest and successes recorded by the LEAP staff. The optimal usage of Technology and data such as Shotspotter Technology to direct and identify problematic streets and Blocks in a Policing area and the consistent confiscation of Unlicensed Firearms within our Communities. Prior to the launch of the Western Cape Safety Plan and the activation of LEAP officers, Nyanga was known as the murder capital of the country. Since then to date, this is no longer the case. By aggressively attending to the causes of crime and arresting perpetrators, we are combatting further violence and criminality in the various areas. An independent report by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) shows that since 2019 to the end of 2023 and compared to the other big provinces with high murder rates, such as Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, it is only the Western Cape that has seen a reduction in its murder rate per capita. The other three experienced increases in their murder rate.
The reaction unit are deployed in various areas where there are flare ups and violence.
- (i)
(i) | (ii) | |||||
Year | Areas | Total Arrest | Firearm Arrest | Drug Related Arrests | Ammunition Arrests | Dangerous Weapons Arrest |
2021 | Delft | 926 | 14 | 583 | 27 | 98 |
Site B | 358 | 18 | 167 | 18 | 45 | |
Nyanga | 654 | 26 | 293 | 25 | 151 | |
Philippi | 607 | 19 | 276 | 27 | 84 | |
Bishop | 480 | 8 | 332 | 10 | 35 | |
Mitchells Plain | 409 | 6 | 343 | 8 | 6 | |
Reaction Unit | 119 | 0 | 73 | 1 | 24 | |
Mfuleni | 194 | 5 | 64 | 6 | 52 | |
Kraaifontein | 251 | 11 | 106 | 15 | 23 | |
Harare | 156 | 3 | 79 | 4 | 30 | |
Atlantis | 14 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
(i) | (ii) | |||||
Year | Areas | Total Arrest | Firearm Arrest | Drug Related Arrests | Ammunition Arrests | Dangerous Weapons Arrest |
2022 | Delft | 1103 | 12 | 830 | 24 | 61 |
Site B | 288 | 9 | 134 | 13 | 17 | |
Nyanga | 749 | 27 | 424 | 23 | 138 | |
Philippi | 604 | 27 | 345 | 19 | 39 | |
Bishop | 756 | 15 | 596 | 19 | 9 | |
Mitchells Plain | 518 | 4 | 416 | 12 | 16 | |
Reaction Unit | 660 | 17 | 514 | 22 | 50 | |
Gugulethu | 316 | 16 | 194 | 12 | 43 | |
Mfuleni | 1051 | 16 | 578 | 22 | 229 | |
Kraaifontein | 1569 | 20 | 811 | 33 | 252 | |
Harare | 269 | 17 | 152 | 13 | 23 | |
Atlantis | 463 | 5 | 377 | 10 | 21 | |
Philippi East | 62 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 19 | |
Samora Machel | 45 | 7 | 21 | 4 | 5 | |
(i) | (ii) | |||||
Year | Areas | Total Arrest | Firearm Arrest | Drug Related Arrests | Ammunition Arrests | Dangerous Weapons Arrest |
2023
| Delft | 1568 | 36 | 1201 | 30 | 37 |
Site B | 565 | 14 | 276 | 23 | 57 | |
Nyanga | 962 | 17 | 749 | 20 | 26 | |
Philippi | 483 | 12 | 365 | 16 | 7 | |
Bishop | 691 | 27 | 476 | 29 | 5 | |
Mitchells Plain | 1154 | 16 | 1025 | 18 | 23 | |
Reaction Unit | 931 | 25 | 818 | 35 | 31 | |
Gugulethu | 577 | 5 | 407 | 8 | 116 | |
Mfuleni | 1499 | 22 | 614 | 40 | 182 | |
(i) | (ii) | |||||
Year | Areas | Total Arrest | Firearm Arrest | Drug Related Arrests | Ammunition Arrests | Dangerous Weapons Arrest |
2023
| Kraaifontein | 2127 | 15 | 989 | 32 | 169 |
Harare | 644 | 22 | 353 | 15 | 147 | |
Atlantis | 795 | 10 | 689 | 13 | 15 | |
Philippi East | 265 | 10 | 169 | 10 | 8 | |
Samora Machel | 527 | 25 | 400 | 29 | 18 | |
Shotspotter* | 286 | 5 | 229 | 7 | 6 | |
(i) | (ii) | |||||
Year | Areas | Total Arrest | Firearm Arrest | Drug Related Arrests | Ammunition Arrests | Dangerous Weapons Arrest |
2024 | Delft | 473 | 4 | 358 | 4 | 0 |
Site B | 187 | 5 | 87 | 4 | 29 | |
Nyanga | 158 | 1 | 141 | 1 | 3 | |
Philippi | 97 | 2 | 82 | 2 | 1 | |
Bishop | 182 | 9 | 97 | 10 | 0 | |
Mitchells Plain | 183 | 3 | 173 | 4 | 0 | |
Reaction Unit | 108 | 0 | 103 | 1 | 0 | |
Gugulethu | 113 | 5 | 63 | 3 | 23 | |
Mfuleni | 358 | 2 | 163 | 2 | 36 | |
Kraaifontein | 477 | 1 | 187 | 3 | 33 | |
Harare | 244 | 1 | 122 | 3 | 67 | |
Atlantis | 258 | 4 | 215 | 8 | 2 | |
Philippi East | 118 | 0 | 109 | 0 | 1 | |
Samora | 199 | 2 | 162 | 5 | 1 | |
Shotspotter* | 198 | 2 | 181 | 1 | 1 | |
The ShotSpotter Technology location/area details cannot be divulge for security reasons.
(iii) This question should be directed to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
