One of South Africa’s most senior police officials has thrown his weight behind Cape Town’s push to give its Metro Police greater powers — and the City says it has 6 000 officers ready to prove their worth.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has welcomed public backing from Western Cape South African Police Service (SAPS) Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile for the expansion of Metro Police powers, calling it confirmation of a position the City has long advocated.

In an interview with News24, Patekile stated that certain functions could be assigned to Metro Police to free SAPS officers to focus on specialised investigations, citing resource constraints within the service.

Conviction rates low

Hill-Lewis said crime investigation powers were of particular importance, noting that while Metro Police officers remove more than 400 illegal firearms from the streets annually, the conviction rate in such cases stands at just 5%.

He attributed this to what he described as a broken criminal justice system, and said expanded powers would help SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) secure more convictions for gang, gun, and drug-related offences.

Political will to expand policing powers for Metro Police remains a major obstacle.

The mayor, however, cautioned that political will remained a significant obstacle to expanding Metro Police powers at a national level.

“Political will to expand policing powers for Metro Police remains a major obstacle. That’s why we welcome voices such as the Commissioner’s, and hope he is heard at the highest levels of national government,” said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

Mayco member for safety and security in the City, JP Smith, described the Commissioner’s comments as a significant endorsement from one of the country’s most senior police officials.

He noted that international best practice places policing powers at regional and local level, closer to communities and local crime trends, with the exception of agencies such as the Hawks that operate across provincial borders.

Smith added that the City’s Public Safety Training College already incorporates skills such as statement writing and evidence handling in preparation for expanded powers. The City currently has more than 6 000 Metro Police members.

“We are delighted to hear Commissioner Patekile’s comments, which are a sign of the value our officers have already been able to offer SAPS,” said Smith.

Too many cases struck from the roll

The City of Cape Town’s push for expanded policing powers and the “devolution” of national policing duties accelerated in August 2022.

In 2025, as reported by TygerBurger, the City of Cape Town escalated its push to have certain national policing powers devolved to its Metro Police, tabling a formal resolution at a council meeting through the intergovernmental dispute framework after receiving no meaningful response from the National Police Commissioner to a previous letter from Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.

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The powers being sought include investigative authority over gang-related violence, firearm offences, extortion, and drug trafficking, as well as access to crime intelligence data and control over forensic ballistics testing laboratories.

Chair of the City’s safety and security portfolio committee, Mzwakhe Nqavashe, told TygerBurger that the current system was failing residents.

He pointed to chronic laboratory backlogs causing criminal cases to be struck from the court roll, and the absence of real-time crime intelligence leaving Metro Police reactive rather than preventative.

Despite the City removing nearly 2 000 illegal firearms from the streets in recent years, conviction rates remained disproportionately low, according to him.

“The situation remains untenable,” he said at the time. “Our residents continue to live in fear, children are unable to play safely outdoors, and criminals still control our streets.”