LEAP law enforcement officers are making Hanover Park’s residents feel safer

The Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, welcomes the efforts made by the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) law enforcement officers, deployed through the Western Cape Safety Plan, in making residents feel safer.

Between 15 February and 21 February 2021 alone, the following operations were conducted in the Philippi police precinct which includes Hanover Park:

• 713 people searched;
• 42 house searches;
• 6 Vehicle Check Points (VCP) or roadblocks and 23 vehicle searched;
• 2 follow up visits of closed shebeens;
• 31 fines and notices issued;
• 17 autonomous, integrated and joint operations;
• 1 arrest of a person in possession of a dangerous weapon;
• 9 arrests were executed including 1 arrest of person in possession of a dangerous weapon, 2 arrests for rape and domestic violence and 6 arrests for possession of drugs.

These statistics show the positive impact which LEAP is having in making Hanover Park and the surrounding areas safer.

Minister Fritz said, “I welcome the positive change brought about by LEAP officers in Hanover Park. When visiting the community, I am often met by locals who tell me that LEAP officers are making them feel safer, which is exactly what we sought out to achieve by redeploying LEAP to communities such as Hanover Park.”

Minister Fritz added, “I am pleased to announce that Hanover Park will be the first community to have an established Area Based Team (ABT). This will be launched by the end of March 2021. The ABT methodology is built on the premise that data-led evidence guides interventions.”

Minister Fritz added further, “ABTs will function as an institutional mechanism that both coordinates and monitors all government interventions in the area and operationalises service delivery interventions, in a collaborated way with community-based organizations like Community Police Forums. It will therefore be important that implementing partners have a common vision of the needs of communities and a holistic approach in addressing these needs in a collaborative way and not in isolation.”

Minister Fritz concluded, “I wish to thank Colonel Fredericks for his tremendous efforts in addressing gang-related violence in Hanover Park. His efforts have been nothing short of heroic and I wish him well in his new role at Mitchells Plain SAPS where he can utilize his knowledge and expertise in fighting crime to further bring a sense of safety to those living in Mitchells Plain.”

LEAP Update

LEAP law enforcement officers were redeployed to five crime hotspots in October 2020 which includes Delft, Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Philippi (which includes Hanover Park) and Bishop Lavis. Between 15 February – 21 February 2021, LEAP conducted:

• 4246 person searches;
• 139 house searches;
• 25 vehicle check points and 403 vehicle searches;
• 18 follow up visits to ensure shebeen closures;
• 100 inspections of off-consumption liquor premises;
• 223 notices and fines issues; and
• 117 autonomous, integrated and joint operations with local SAPS.

Supported by local SAPS, LEAP law enforcement made 110 arrests over that week for:

• Possession of drugs (73), of which 31 were in Delft and 21 were in Bishop Lavis;
• Dealing in drugs (2);
• Possession of a dangerous weapon (22);
• Possession of illegal ammunition (1);
• Possession of an imitation firearm (4);
• Possession of a dangerous weapon (22);
• Trading in liquor without a license (2);
• Rape (1);
• Domestic Violence (1);
• Damage to essential infrastructure (1); and
• Stolen property (2).­