A reply to a parliamentary question revealed that the Department of Community Safety has spent over R 60 million to train and deploy 438 learner Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) through the Law Enforcement Advancement Programme (LEAP). This aims to supplement the safety officer base in the province, and the deployment of these officers shows that where there are more boots on the ground, we are better able to respond to crime.
MPP Reagen Allen says: “I note that after the deployment of 60 these of officers in one of the priority crime areas in the metro, no shootings have been recorded. Along with this, I welcome the Minister Albert Fritz’s engagement with the Provincial Commissioner to determine the way forward regarding the concern in the increased shootings in the province and stabilisation efforts by the South African Police Service.
We will engage with SAPS on these stabilisation efforts during the next meeting on the Policing Needs and Priorities in the Western Cape scheduled for 18 November 2020 and also discuss the involvement of LEOs in this regard.”
The duties of the LEAP-LEO officers include dealing with vehicle stop and searches, by-law enforcement and general crime prevention initiatives and will go a long way to supplement and enhance the work of SAPS.
MPP Allen adds: “According to the reply, between 194 to 403 officers have been deployed to hotspot areas on a daily basis from May to June 2020, but to enforce lockdown regulations. These were the first tangible deliverables of the Western Cape Safety Plan that aims to address the need of improved safety efforts in the province. The increasingly significant work done by the officers thus far is therefore also a great asset in our commitment to safety.”
The DA-led government in the Western Cape remains committed to using every tool at its disposal to make communities safer for the people of the province.
