CAPE TOWN – Cape Town’s Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) has recorded a 41% increase in drug confiscations and removed 148 firearms from the city’s most violent neighbourhoods in the eleven months since July. But Mayco member for safety and security in the City JP Smith warns that arrests alone will not turn the tide without faster prosecutions from national government.

Since September 2024, the LEAP deployments have centred on Delft, Khayelitsha, Philippi East, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain, and Gugulethu, all areas with the highest murder rates, according to the latest crime statistics.

A specialised Reaction Unit of 120 members was launched to swiftly respond to sudden, violent flare-ups in other areas like Hanover Park, Manenberg, Atlantis, Kraaifontein, and Elsies River.

ALSO READ: Top cop backs push for tougher metro police and Cape Town is ready

In addition to the firearm and contraband confiscations between July 2025 and April this year, LEAP officers have also recorded increases in overall arrests and several other categories, including proactive inspections of premises like scrap yards and liquor outlets. LEAP officers are also increasingly being requested to assist with safeguarding City officials in high crime areas to ensure service delivery continues amid ongoing threats of extortion and crime.

Statistics

Statistics comparing the periods July 2024 to May 2025 and July 2025 to May 2026 reflect a generally upward trend in law enforcement activity. Arrests increased from 7 812 to 8 537, while escorts rose sharply from 419 to 758. Inspections also climbed from 2 458 to 2 717. Firearms recovered increased from 125 to 148, and drug seizures rose significantly from 18 797 to 26 546 units.

However, not all figures trended upward. Ammunition recoveries dropped considerably from 4 812 to 1 443, and imitation firearms declined marginally from 30 to 27.

Mayco member for safety and security in the City JP Smith, noted that the statistics are encouraging, particularly the increase in confiscations.

“Officers are taking, on average, more than a dozen firearms off the street every month, and the near 50% increase in drug confiscations too is something to be proud of, particularly with the commemoration of World Drug Day on 26 June. Drug abuse not only tears apart our social fabric, but the trade fuels organised crime and much of the gang violence that continues to plague parts of our city,” he said.

A review of the most recent crime statistics, he added, showed a reduction in the number of murders in all but one of the areas where LEAP deployment is active.

“While encouraging, we are under no illusion that a lot more work needs to be done. And, it bears repeating – removing firearms and criminals from the streets means little if it’s not backed up by speedy and thorough investigations and prosecutions. The City has expressed its willingness and ability to assist, so the ball really is in the court of national government,” said Smith.