Geordin Hill-Lewis demands swift national response to enhance Cape Town's policing powers

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has intensified calls for national government to immediately grant expanded policing powers to the City’s metro police, saying further delays are no longer defensible amid escalating gang, gun and drug violence.

Hill-Lewis was responding to public remarks by Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, who this week acknowledged that the South African Police Service (SAPS) is currently not able to defeat gangs driving violent crime in the Western Cape.

“Minister Cachalia openly admits that SAPS do not have the resources to win the fight against gang crime. It is now impossible for him to delay any further in responding to Cape Town’s proposal for City metro police to help SAPS investigate gun, gang and drug crimes,” Hill-Lewis said.

He said the City has already drafted the necessary regulations to expand municipal policing powers, but they have yet to be signed off by the minister. According to the mayor, City officers are ready to build prosecution-ready case dockets to help drive convictions in gang, firearm and narcotics cases.

Hill-Lewis said City police already seize more than 450 illegal firearms a year, but only about 5% of these cases result in convictions, which he attributed to an under-resourced criminal justice system, including SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority.

“The Acting Police Minister has the power to change this situation immediately — by urgently resourcing SAPS and by expanding the draft municipal policing regulations his department published for public comment as far back as June last year,” he said, adding that he has requested an urgent meeting with Cachalia to unblock the process.

The mayor’s renewed push comes against the backdrop of growing concern across the province about the state’s capacity to contain violent crime. Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has said calls for a formal crime disaster declaration are under urgent consideration, but stressed that the authority to make such a declaration rests with national government, underscoring the limits of provincial power in policing matters.

City safety officials argue that Cape Town is already compensating for national shortfalls. The City has added 1 263 officers between 2021 and 2025 — a 48% increase — while SAPS staffing in the metro has declined by an estimated 1 300 officers over the same period. City fleet data also shows more municipal policing vehicles on the road than SAPS.

Recent parliamentary replies further indicate SAPS vacancy rates of between 20% and 40% across most Cape Town precincts, including around 200 vacant detective posts as of August 2025.

Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith said the latest murder and gang-related death figures were an urgent call for decisive action, warning that communities could not endure further delays while violence continues unabated.

Hill-Lewis said the City was no longer prepared to wait for national government to resolve systemic policing failures. “Our communities are under siege. Expanding City policing powers is one of the fastest, most practical steps available right now to help restore order and secure convictions,” he said.

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