Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says Parliament’s newly announced probe into violent crime is a crucial chance to confront South Africa’s collapsing conviction rates and the severe lack of police resources that continue to fuel crime in communities.
“We can turn the tables on gang, gun, and drug crime, but this is only possible if we increase conviction rates, which remain extremely low.”
Hill-Lewis stressed that while the City continues boosting its own policing capacity, national systems are failing to keep pace.
“Thanks to our major safety investments, City officers are increasingly taking more guns and drugs off the streets. But the problem remains the conviction rate, which sits at just 5% for the 400 illegal firearms City officers confiscate annually.”
He says the City plans to fully participate in Parliament’s investigation to highlight the lived realities in gang-affected communities and the shortages crippling police stations.
“This is an opportunity to put the national spotlight on the urgent solutions we have been calling for which is more policing powers for City officers, and more resources for the South African Police Services (SAPS).”
Recent City data shows its policing staff has grown by nearly 50% since 2021, while SAPS numbers have declined. Hill-Lewis argues that expanding municipal policing powers and urgently resourcing SAPS would help close this gap.
Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says the crisis in policing is the result of long-term national failures.
“There is a real crisis facing our police service. Stations are falling apart, detectives don’t have laptops, and they’re even short of basic items like paper and DNA kits. This mismanagement, along with corruption, has driven the violent crime epidemic our country now faces.”
He added that Cape Town is ready to partner with SAPS on intelligence-led policing.
“Working together, we can dismantle the syndicates driving gang violence. But our increased efforts won’t be enough without urgent reform across the criminal justice system.”
