The Minister of Police, Professor Firoz Cachalia, met with Premier Alan Winde, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, Safety MEC Anroux Marais and MMC JP Smith in Cape Town on Thursday to discuss the current crime spike in the province and to explore ways to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation in addressing it.

During the meeting, Cachalia reaffirmed the importance of the Cooperation Agreement that was entered into by the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service, the Western Cape Government, and the City of Cape Town last year in September.

The agreement forms the foundation for joint efforts to improve safety and security in communities across the province.

Cachalia says that the agreement will now be thoroughly unpacked and reviewed to ensure that it delivers practical, implementable measures that enhance safety outcomes for residents.

“We are committed to identifying and exploiting every possible avenue for improved collaboration and integration across all levels of government. The fight against crime is a national imperative that requires a whole-of-government approach. No single sphere of government can succeed alone. National, provincial, and local governments must work together, drawing on their respective mandates, resources, and capacities. We must continue to build trust with communities by delivering results through coordinated action, accountability, and a shared commitment to making South Africa safer for all.”

Premier Winde has thanked the Minister for his willingness to engage:

“This is a crucial step in fostering closer partnerships in addressing the pressing issue of violent and organised crime in our communities. I am keenly aware of the urgent need for greater collaboration and cooperation to deal with crime decisively. I look forward to growing this partnership going forward, in the spirit of cooperative governance. We must act definitively and urgently against this scourge that continues to rob too many of our residents of their right to security and dignity.”

Hill-Lewis says he was encouraged by Cachalia’s openness to consider extending investigative powers to City police and law enforcement, particularly to investigate crime and build case dockets.

He says the City would like to see the Minister immediately expand the draft municipal policing power regulations issued by his department for public comment earlier this year.

“The draft regulations don’t go far enough on some of the critical crimes our officers attend to daily in Cape Town. As it stands, officers can still only arrest, search, and take action to prevent a crime, without being able to investigate it and prepare a prosecution-ready case docket. We stand ready to make an immediate impact in the fight against crime and are calling for the urgent granting of more policing powers within this year.”

Specifically, Hill-Lewis is calling for City Police to be granted investigative powers for offences linked to:

• The Firearms Control Act
• Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act
• Prevention of Organised Crime Act
• National Road Traffic Act
• Certain property-related offences, including theft and house-breaking
• Violent crime, including public violence, robbery, domestic violence, assault, and intimidation of City frontline services

The City is further recommending that the power to investigate crime be accompanied by:

• power to conduct forensic, ballistic or other forms of examination of exhibits that require expert analysis
• the ability to take witness statements and open dockets
•  integration with the SAPS CAS system and/or acceptance of an independent system of crime-recording
• Real-time access to SAPS crime stats info and criminal case status updates

While they await Cachalia’s feedback, the City has introduced a special training module to ensure all its officers have the necessary statement-writing and docket-building skills in anticipation of the devolution of investigative powers.

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