While Cele stumbles, 1 100 LEAP officers are deployed in the Western Cape

11 August 2022

Note to Editors: Please find photos here, here and here

The DA-run Western Cape Government, together with the City of Cape Town today celebrated the deployment of another 100 new Law Enforcement Advancement Programme (LEAP) graduates across the city, bringing the total LEAP officers deployed to 1 100.

While the government is unable to capacitate SAPS and keep South Africans safe, the DA-led Western Cape continues to come up with solution-orientated interventions in policing.

Many communities are still threatened by violent crime, drug abuse and gangsterism, and there is still much more work to be done. But the LEAP programme is a leading step in the right direction. Since the very first deployment in February 2020, LEAP officers have made 8500 arrests, and have taken over 220 guns off the streets.

To date, the Western Cape Government has invested R712 million in the LEAP programme, and a further R400 million has been budgeted for the 2022/23 financial year. The DA welcomes the Western Cape Government’s commitment to making our province a safer place for all.

The DA in the Western Cape applauds the efforts of all stakeholders involved, and we thank them for their hard work to establish the LEAP, bolstering safety resources in crime hotspots across Cape Town. We also wish to extend a special word of thanks to the brave LEAP officers who are making our vulnerable communities safer.

Issued by Tertuis Simmers, DA Provincial Leader, Western Cape, 11 August 2022