The City of Cape Town hopes the government of national unity (GNU) will pave way for more policing powers for its law enforcement agencies.
On Wednesday, JP Smith, the mayoral committee member for safety and security, said the city will this week be a signatory of a co-operation agreement between the SAPS, the provincial police oversight department and the community safety department.
Smith said the agreement “formalises a commitment by all three spheres of government to work together to improve safety in Cape Town for all residents”.
This was outlined during a stakeholder engagement in the city hall on Tuesday.
“The Safer Cities Initiative was first introduced three years ago but failed to effectively get off the ground. In the past, the climate might not have been ready for formal agreements between the city and SAPS. However, the GNU has paved the way for a new era of co-operation and collaboration,” said Smith.
Smith said the city “hoped that the agreement is the first step towards a blueprint for mutual aid and partnerships”.
He hoped the police would share “up to date crime data and intelligence with city enforcement services” and use the “investments the city has made into policing, focused on improving public safety in Cape Town”.
“Good work and collaboration have already begun on combating economic crimes and extortion syndicates. Much more can and must be done to stop these syndicates,” said Smith. “For years, the city’s enforcement agencies have worked in support of SAPS in some of our most vulnerable communities; our strategic surveillance unit has availed its CCTV footage to SAPS investigators in aid of securing prosecutions; we’ve provided access to data and intelligence from our gunshot detection technology, and have expressed a commitment to share even more resources like the information, reconnaissance and surveillance technology, more commonly known as the Eye in the Sky.”
Smith said the city had “made notable investments in its human capital” through the law enforcement advancement plan. He said the city was confident its law enforcement services staff could play a critical role in providing additional investigative capacity through metro police, the safety and security internal investigative unit and its information management arm to help improve prosecution rates.
“There have been very positive developments since the appointment of the new police minister as part of the government of national unity — the signing, finally, of the co-operation agreement is testament to that, but it will be vital that the implementation protocol is concluded as a matter of urgency to ensure this isn’t simply a framework document that doesn’t lead to any real chance of change in our most vulnerable communities,” he said.
“We need smarter policing that is driven by intelligence and evidence. The city is fully committed to the initiative; however, we will continue advocating the devolution of policing powers to local government, as provided for in the constitution, as the most realistic and effective intervention in the fight against crime.”
He said the city’s safety and security directorate has proven that it can manage effective and ethical policing agencies.
“Awarding additional policing powers to the city will assist in the fight against crime, and we call on the national minister to extend such powers, as part of this co-operation agreement,” he said.
TimesLIVE
Siphesihle Hona
www.timeslive.co.za
