LEAP Officers remove over 30 illegal firearms off the streets in three weeks

Between Monday 3 and Sunday - 23 October 2022, Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers ensured that 36 illegal firearms were removed from the streets in areas where they are deployed. During the same period, these officers also arrested 559 persons for various crimes. LEAP is an initiative of the Western Cape Government (WCG) and is run in partnership with the City of Cape Town that is showing significant successes in the areas in which it is deployed.

The confiscations of the firearms occurred in Delft, Gugulethu, Kraaifontein, Steenberg, Harare (Khayelitsha), Nyanga, Philippi, Philippi East, Bishop Lavis, Mfuleni, Manenberg, Atlantis and Mitchells Plain.

These officers are deployed where they can make the biggest difference in turning around negative crime statistics, including in our top 10 murder areas in the Western Cape. This includes Delft, Gugulethu, Harare, Khayelitsha (Site B policing precinct), Kraaifontein, Mfuleni, Mitchells Plain, Nyanga, Philippi East, and Samora Machel. Other high crime areas in which they are deployed are Atlantis, Bishop Lavis and Hanover Park, and recently Lavender Hill, Steenberg and Grassy Park.

These placements are backed by evidence and data. The first quarter (April – June 2022) crime statistics show that while murder increased by 11.5% in the country when compared with the same period in the 2021/22 financial year, there was an 8,2% reduction in the murder rate during the same period at stations where the LEAP officers are currently deployed. 

LEAP has also started incorporating the Western Cape Government’s Safety Dashboard. This dashboard is providing real-time data to provincial safety stakeholders and helps identify exactly where the LEAP officers are most required. This strengthens our hand in anticipating where new hotspots may appear so that we can deploy the necessary resources - before crime is committed and lives are lost. The Emergency Medical Services data is also being integrated with the Safety Dashboard, to provide us with a more complete picture of violence and trauma in the province.

During 3 - 23 October 2022, LEAP officers have amongst others:

• Searched 25 494 persons
• Searched 895 houses
• Conducted 4 356 patrols in hotspot areas
• Conducted 329 roadblocks
• Searched 3 073 vehicles

Of the 559 persons that were arrested, 24 were for the possession of an illegal firearm, 32 for the possession of illegal ammunition, 17 for the possession of an imitation firearm, 307 for the possession of drugs and 72 for the possession of dangerous weapons.

As LEAP officers work with a multitude of law enforcement agencies, they conducted 566 integrated operations with other City of Cape Town Law Enforcement Agencies and SAPS.

Minister for Police Oversight and Community Safety Reagen Allen said: “These effective and continued operations are crucial if we’re to achieve our ultimate goal, which is to halve the province’s murder rate by 2029. Our LEAP officers, through their visibility and execution, are doing an exceptional job. They are demonstrating what can be achieved when you are direct, deliberate and strategic in the utilisation of your resources and tools. Once the South African Police Services (SAPS) is devolved to a capable provincial government such as ours, we will ensure that amongst others, this method is implemented.”

“I commend these LEAP officers for their continued effort and commitment. We should not lose sight of the fact that we have a long way to go, and therefore, I urge communities to work with and support all law enforcement agencies, including LEAP, other City of Cape Town law enforcement entities and SAPS,” concluded Minister Reagen Allen.