LEAP officers’ successes in restoring calm to the Metro praised

The Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, welcomes the successes of the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) law enforcement officers, who have been redeployed, through the Western Cape Safety Plan, to assist the five Areas-Based Teams (ABT) in Hanover Park, Nyanga, Khayelitsha, Bishop Lavis and Delft.

On Friday, 9 October, Minister Fritz met with the local Councilor and the Station Commander on the spate of shooting incidents in Hanover Park. During the meeting, the station commander outlined a detailed safety plan to quell the violence.

Minister Fritz said, “Since, an additional 60 law enforcement officers have been redeployed to Hanover Park to assist in putting a stop to the violence. It is reported that since the redeployment, there have been no shooting incidents in Hanover Park.”

Minister Fritz further met with the Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Matakata on Wednesday 14 October on the spate of shooting incidents across the province where he received a briefing on SAPS to stabilize affected communities.

Minister Fritz said, “Over the past weekend, it was reported that whilst LEAP law enforcement were on patrol in Site C, Khayelitsha, members of the community flagged the law enforcement down and provided a tip off to the staff on a suspect whose modus operandi includes impersonating a police officer and robbing people of their belongings.”

Minister Fritz added “The team acted on the information received together with the SAPS Crime Prevention Unit and upon arriving at the residence of the suspect, his mother opened the door and informed SAPS and law enforcement that her son was asleep. She called him and allowed the staff to enter. Upon investigation, a SAPS bulletproof vest together with a cap and jacket was found as well as 3 rounds of ammunition. The suspect was then arrested and transported to Khayelitsha SAPS and processed.”

“It is incredibly reassuring to see our LEAP officers fighting crime and making citizens feel safe. Their deployment is making a tangible difference in the lives of the most vulnerable in our society as they deployed in areas most affected by crime. I further welcome the cordial way in which SAPS and LEAP officers are working together to root out crime,” said Minister Fritz.

Minister Fritz continued, “I further wish to commend Milnerton SAPS on their efforts to crackdown on the perpetrators responsible for a shooting in Joe Slovo which resulted in the multiples murders. On Friday, Milnerton detectives arrested a 26-year-old suspect a as part of an investigation into the murder of five people on Thursday, 8October 2020. The arrested suspect is expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s court on Monday on charges of murder.”