The City of Cape Town will not be deploying any more of the City’s Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap) officers to Bellville, despite a plea by a local improvement organisation to do so.
The Voortrekker Road Corridor Improvement District (VRCID), which covers a large area in Bellville and Voortrekker Road, called on the City to deploy more of their officers to the area.
This comes after the release of the crime statistics by the South African Police Services earlier this month.
The statistics, which give an overview of crime rates in the first quarter of this year, show an 8,2% drop in murder in Leap deployment areas, the City pointed out afterwards.
“(The) Crime Stats release for the 1st quarter of 2022 show that murder continues to come down in those areas where the Provincial Government and the City of Cape Town are deploying Leap officers, while murder continues to climb alarmingly at a national level,” Geordin Hill-Lewis, mayor, said in a press release.
“The station-level stats reveal something very significant: In the top 30 murder stations in the country, every station (bar one in KZN) where murder is coming down is a Leap deployment area.”
A few days after the announcement, the City deployed 100 new law enforcement officers to the Cape Town CBD, saying this would help make the area one where everyone “can feel safe walking to and from the bus stop or the train station, and where women feel safe visiting restaurants and bars at night.”
The VRCID then put in a request of its own, congratulating the City, but also asking for deployment to Bellville’s CBD.
“If the city is serious about the rejuvenation of the Bellville CBD, this needs to happen sooner than later. We need a permanent presence of law enforcement to tackle crime and grime in the Bellville CBD area,” says Hardus Zevenster, chair of the VRCID’s board.
“It is also concerning to note that the criminal element has infiltrated the homeless encampments along Tienie Meyer Boulevard and around the Bellville taxi rank.
“Businesses need to be assured by the city that their investments are safe or else they will simply sell their property and move to safer areas.”
No Leap deployment
In response, JP Smith, Mayco member for safety and security, said the 100 officers deployed in the City’s CBD “are a law enforcement deployment and has no bearing on Leap in any way whatsover”.
He explained the project was established by the Premier and its aim is to reduce the murder rate in the province.
“Therefore there will be no Leap deployment to Bellville as it does not form part of the number of top murder stations. To reiterate, there is no Leap deployment in the Cape Town CBD.
However, the City’s law enforcement department deploys 10 officers to the Bellville CBD who operate jointly with metro police and traffic services.”
