LEAP officers secure over 700 arrests during December

19 January 2023

Between 5 December 2022 – 1 January 2023, Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers effected the arrest of 747 individuals for an array of offences. LEAP is an initiative of the Western Cape Government (WCG) and is run in partnership with the City of Cape Town.

Amongst others, the arrests include:

12 for the possession of illegal firearms

14 for the possession of imitation firearms

51 for the possession of dangerous weapons

501 for the possession of drugs and

23 for the possession of illegal ammunition

Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen said: “I would like to thank the LEAP officers for their continued hard work in the various areas where they are deployed. The manner in which these officers go about their work is truly inspiring. It fills me with joy to see how passionate they are to create safer communities, so that our residents can live in dignity. This is part of the reason why we launched the Western Cape Safety Plan. With LEAP stemming from the safety plan, we want the residents to know that their safety and wellbeing is our priority.”

The operational strategy and deployment of the various teams is based on available evidence and data led. 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.

During the same period, LEAP officers have amongst others:

Searched 36 976 persons,

Searched 1 377 houses,

Conducted 6 202 patrols in hotspot areas,

Conducted 356 roadblocks and

Searched 3 883 vehicles.

As LEAP officers work with a multitude of law enforcement agencies, they conducted 813 integrated operations with other City of Cape Town Law Enforcement Agencies and the South African Police Services (SAPS).

“LEAP is not an island, and these successes are not achieved by them alone. They work closely with other City of Cape Town law enforcement agencies, SAPS, neighbourhood watches and Community Police Forums (CPF)s. I once again urge communities to work with and support all law enforcement agencies, as through this cooperation, we will become more effective in our fight against crime,” concluded Minister Reagen Allen.

Issued by Marcellino Martin, Spokesperson for Minister Reagen Allen, 19 January 2023