Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to commit to devolving policing powers to the city’s metro police during this week’s State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The mayor said the city wants authority for its officers to investigate gang, gun, and drug-related crimes, citing what he described as extremely low conviction rates for such cases.
According to Hill-Lewis, city officers already remove more than 450 illegal firearms from the streets annually, but the conviction rate in these cases stands at just 5%. He attributed this to what he called a broken criminal justice system and under-resourced South African Police Service (SAPS) and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
“Our well-trained officers stand immediately ready to help SAPS by building prosecution-ready case dockets to up convictions,” Hill-Lewis said in a statement.
The mayor said the city submitted draft regulations for expanded policing powers as part of a public participation process last year, but claimed these remain unaddressed by Acting Police Minister Leon Cachalia.
Hill-Lewis said the city has been unable to secure a follow-up meeting with Cachalia despite his presence in Cape Town for SONA this week.
In the past four months, the city reported confiscating 119 illegal firearms, making more than 4,500 arrests, and removing over 16,000 units of drugs from the streets.
Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith questioned why Cachalia recently supported devolution of policing powers for Gauteng crime wardens but has not provided clear timelines for Cape Town’s metro police.
“This backs a long-standing belief that policing in the Western Cape is being undermined for political reasons,” Smith said.
City data shows its policing personnel grew by 1,263 officers between 2021 and 2025, representing a 48% increase. Over the same period, SAPS officers in the metro declined by an estimated 1,300, a 15% drop.
The city also reported having approximately 560 more policing vehicles on the roads compared to SAPS, based on 2025 fleet data.
A recent parliamentary reply indicated that SAPS vacancy rates across most Cape Town precincts range from 20% to 40%, including 200 vacant detective posts as of August 2025.
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