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The City of Cape Town has an army of Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers, managed by Cape Town Mayco member JP Smith, who styles himself the Sheriff of Cape Town.

And although the LEAP officers make for excellent PR opportunities for the politicians, in their shiny boots, what is clear is that they have very little impact on quarterly crime statistics.

In today's crime stats, released for the period between July to end September 2024,

Cape Town still has 5 of the 10 police stations that recorded the most contact crimes in the country. Khayelitsha saw the highest spike in the country, with an additional 109 crimes reported, a total of 820 crimes reported at the station in 3 months.

Cape Town also makes up 5 of the top 10 police stations that recorded the most murders. The Cape Town stations that feature, account for a combined 319 murders in just 3 months.

And although compared to the same period last year, there has been marginal decreases in murders in Delft, Nyanga, Mfuleni and Gugulethu, Phillip East saw an increase of 60.9 % points.  

People in the Cape Flats live in constant fear because of Gang Violence.

Out of the 221 gang-related murders reported nationally in 3 months, 177 occurred in the Western Cape.

Clearly the number of boots on the ground is not having the desired impact on crime in the city

Yes, we need efficient law enforcement but we also need to address the root cause of crime.

The GOOD Party calls on the City of Cape Town to publicly review its LEAP programme, it needs to undertake an honest cost-benefit analysis.

Issued by Jonathan Cupido, GOOD: City of Cape Town Councillor