Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called for urgent action to strengthen conviction rates for gang, gun and drug-related crimes, following the release of the latest Quarterly Crime Statistics. While police arrests and weapon confiscations remain high across several Cape Town precincts, the Mayor warned that prosecution failures continue to undermine efforts to curb violent crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe latest crime stats make it clear that violent crime continues to plague some of our most vulnerable communities,\u201d Hill-Lewis said. \u201cWe see encouraging declines in murder in areas like Nyanga, Philippi East and Khayelitsha \u2014 all supported by LEAP deployments \u2014 but without stronger conviction rates, we cannot turn the tide.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The City highlighted that the police is confiscating significant quantities of illegal guns and drugs across multiple precincts, and that City enforcement agencies are also removing over 450 illegal firearms from Cape Town\u2019s streets each year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite this, the conviction rate for gun-related cases stands at just 5%, a figure the Mayor described as \u201can indictment of a broken criminal justice system.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hill-Lewis urged the Acting Police Minister to urgently resource the police and expand draft municipal policing power regulations published earlier this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith more policing powers, our officers can build prosecution-ready dockets immediately \u2014 and help secure more convictions for gang, gun and drug crime,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recent City data shows major disparities in policing capacity between the City\u2019s enforcement agencies and the police. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2021, the City has added 1 263 new officers, representing a 48% increase, while police staffing in Cape Town has dropped by 1 300 officers, or 15%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The City also now has 560 more policing vehicles on the road compared to the police, based on 2025 fleet data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
JP Smith, Mayco member for safety and security said the City\u2019s investment is clearly strengthening community safety \u2014 but conviction rates remain the biggest barrier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur new Neighbourhood Safety Officers (NSOs) have made substantial drug-related arrests, yet cases fall flat due to backlogs and systemic failures. We need urgent reform across the justice system,\u201d Smith said.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A parliamentary reply revealed that police vacancy rates across many Cape Town precincts sit between 20% and 40%, including 200 vacant detective posts as of August 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Smith said these shortages, combined with delayed crime data releases, hinder proactive policing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have continually asked for real-time crime data to better deploy our resources. The City has shown we can assist the police through intelligence-led investigations that dismantle syndicates, but we need the powers and cooperation to do so.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hill-Lewis said: \u201cIt\u2019s a Black Friday for Cape Town given these stats \u2014 but our special offer remains 100% more investigative capacity. The Acting Minister should not refuse it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called for urgent action to strengthen conviction rates for gang, gun and drug-related crimes. 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