Swartland traffic and law enforcement got a helping hand last week, thanks to Premier Alan Winde and Minister Reagan Allen.
Winde and Allen, Police Oversight and Community Safety Minister, met with the local K9 Unit and had a successful day on Wednesday (21 September). The visit with the unit was part of the Premier’s Listening Tour outreach.
Since the launch of the Swartland K9 Unit last October it had various successes which includes liquor seizures to the value of more than R255 000, over R424 000 in drugs, 300 kg of stolen copper cables were confiscated from one scrap metal dealer and 159 arrests during the 179 operations.
“These successes are very encouraging,” Winde said. “This unit is clearly making an impact.”
Swartland Executive Mayor Harold Cleophas added to this, saying the unit had been an asset for the whole region. “I appreciate the crime fighting partnerships we have developed between the municipality and the WCG,” he said.
“Our K9 Unit is an asset to us all.”
Buoyed by the effectiveness of the unit, which works closely with other law-enforcement agencies, including the Swartland Municipality’s Reaction unit, officials appealed for more funding to expand these policing functions, enhance collaboration and bolster crime intelligence gathering.
The Premier explained the City of Cape Town’s Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) can be rolled out to other municipal regions, but agreements between municipalities is a must.
“Can you imagine the impact of expanding LEAP beyond Cape Town and even the province? Using our data-driven and evidence based crime fighting model, we would be able to break the back of crime.”
Allen said regardless of where residents find themselves in the province the safety of all residents is the number one concern. “We will continue to support and cooperate with local governments and safety stakeholders,” he said, “as it is vital to strengthen the fight against crime. Drugs and other criminal elements are suffocating our communities, and they are unwelcome.”
