Western Cape Government and Stellenbosch Municipality launch K9 Unit to strengthen the fight against organised crime
The Western Cape Government continues to invest specialised law enforcement capabilities, with the official launch today of the Stellenbosch Municipal K9 Unit. This is a partnership that will strengthen the fight against drug trafficking, organised crime and other forms of criminality in the municipal area.
Establishing this K9 capability in Stellenbosch comes at a critical time: Areas like Kayamandi and Cloetesville recorded increased levels of gang-related and organised crime.
Through the provincial Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety (POCS), the Western Cape Government has invested R400 000 during 2025/26 and a further R1 million during 2026/27 to support the establishment and strengthening of the K9 Unit.
“This is what a practical, targeted partnership to make communities safer looks like,” said Minister Marais.
The next phase of the project will see the establishment of a K9 training facility and municipal breeding programme which could ultimately provide trained dogs to neighbouring municipalities.
The dogs are already finding the drugs. The value of this investment is already being demonstrated on the ground. Even before today's official launch, K9 Juno and her handler have been delivering results.
This demonstrates exactly why specialised K9 capability is essential in the fight against organised crime which is fuelling the ongoing killings in the province. Criminals conceal drugs and other illicit goods in increasingly sophisticated ways. A trained K9 can detect what the human eye cannot, providing law enforcement with an additional capability to identify, disrupt and remove drugs and firearms from circulation.
The Western Cape Government has established and supports municipal K9 capabilities in Swartland, Mossel Bay and Overstrand, with Stellenbosch now joining this growing network of specialised municipal law enforcement capability.
Premier Alan Winde said, “We are making strategic investments into safety by putting resources into programmes, such as K9 units, that have proven their effectiveness and worth.”
“The Stellenbosch Municipal K9 Unit is a specialised, operational, and focused investment into making communities safer. But we must also be very clear that the provincial government cannot carry the national policing responsibility. We are driving safety through our Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP), municipal law enforcement, K9 units, technology, and community safety programmes, but ultimately, national government must change its approach to policing. This means properly resourcing police and dramatically bolstering collaborative intelligence-sharing and investigative capabilities,” Premier Winde added.
He continued that the Western Cape needs the policing resources that match the safety challenges our residents face. National government must provide the personnel, detectives, specialised units, vehicles, equipment and crime intelligence capacity required to police this province effectively.
Our residents should not have to accept that there are simply not enough police officers or resources because national government has failed to allocate them according to the needs of the Western Cape. We will continue to do everything within our mandate, but we need national government to meet its constitutional responsibility.
Minister Anroux Marais said, “Today we are putting another specialised tool into the hands of law enforcement. K9 capability is an essential part of modern crime fighting, particularly when dealing with narcotics and organised criminal networks.”
“Juno has already shown us what is possible. Before this unit was even officially launched, she was detecting drugs that criminals had attempted to conceal,” Minister Marais added.
“We will continue investing in the safety of the people of this province. The Stellenbosch Municipality has demonstrated that it is prepared to put significant resources of its own behind this partnership. But we cannot keep filling every gap created by insufficient national policing resources. We need national government to give the Western Cape the policing resources it deserves and that our residents need,” Premier Winde concluded.
Media Enquiries:
Regan Thaw
Media Liaison Officer to the Premier
083 627 7246
Email: Regan.Thaw@westerncape.gov.za
Kurt Nefdt
Acting MLO to Minister Anroux Marais
0842851975
Kurt.Nefdt@westerncape.gov.za