Minister Allen engages local governments to strengthen safety efforts

Minister Allen engages local governments to strengthen safety efforts across the Western Cape. Between 29 April and 21 May 2024, Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen embarked on visits to all districts to ensure safety efforts and initiatives are aligned across the Western Cape, so that safer communities are created. 

The engagements commenced on 29 April 2024 with the Overberg District Municipality, where Overstrand, Swellendam, Theewaterskloof and Cape Agulhas Municipalities were all represented. On 8 May 2024, it was the turn of the Cape Winelands District Municipality, where the Drakenstein, Breede Valley, Stellenbosch and Witzenberg Municipalities were also present. This was followed by the Central Karoo District Municipality engagement on 17 May, where the Beaufort West and Laingsburg Municipalities joined, and finally on 21 May, the Garden Route District Municipality hosted the meeting, with the Mossel Bay, George, Knysna, Oudtshoorn and Bitou Municipalities, all in attendance. 

Along with their various safety initiatives and programmes, municipalities were afforded the opportunity to advise how their activities tie in with the Western Cape Safety Plan (WCSP). In addition to this, they were asked about their efforts to ensure the integration of operations with all relevant stakeholders particularly the South African Police Service, neighbourhood watches and Community Police Forums. 

Minister Reagen Allen said, “I am grateful for the robust engagements we could have with the various municipalities. I also wish to extend my sincere gratitude to all district mayors, mayors, and mayoral committee members, for the manner in which they are driving safety initiatives in their areas. Various programmes clearly show how safety is being prioritised across the Western Cape. Residents of can rest assured that we have their best interests at heart and are working together to create safer environments for all.”

“As we move forward, we will now embark on wider district engagements, where more stakeholders will be incorporated. It is critical that we are all flexible enough to adopt new and amend methods to be more effective in our crime fighting efforts. We will not shy away from including new partners, as we must remain one step ahead of criminals and their activities. We have a huge task on our hands.”

“As the Western Cape Government, we remain committed to supporting the efforts of our colleagues at a local government level to combat crime,” concluded Minister Reagen Allen.