SAPS: A Case For Devolution?

14 Jun 2023

Violent crime continues its unimpeded rise, with the number of murders in the first three months of 2023 increasing by 3.4% compared to the same period in 2022.

The latest crime figures, covering reported crimes committed between January and March, show that 6 289 murders were committed — equating to 70 killings per day on average.

Despite a rise in the national murder rate, the Free State, the Northern Cape, and the Western Cape experienced declines.

The Western Cape, notorious for gang violence, saw the largest decline, with homicides falling by 14.1% from the year before. Alan Winde, Premier of the Western Cape, attributed this to the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP), a joint safety initiative of the Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town, launched in 2019.

LEAP officers undergo rigorous training covering various aspects of law enforcement. Most areas where LEAP officers were deployed experienced a decline in murders from the previous year, including the low-income settlements of Bishop Lavis (-21.7%), Harare (-30.5%), Khayelitsha (-26.5%), Kraaifontein (-25.9%), Philippi (-20.8%), Mfuleni (-9.6%), and Grassy Park (-38.5%).

Currently, LEAP functions as a parallel police service. Its relative success demonstrates what can be achieved if provinces were granted more control over their respective police services and resources.

In May, Gauteng (which saw murders increase by 10.9%) introduced its own programme, named the Crime Prevention Wardens. But there is some doubt about how well trained these wardens are.

Nevertheless, these initiatives by Gauteng and the Western Cape show that there is a shift starting to happen towards provincial policing as the ineffectiveness of the South African Police Service (SAPS) becomes increasingly apparent.

Despite this, the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, has remained steadfast in his opposition to any sort of full-scale devolution of the SAPS. In Mr. Cele’s words, the constitution provides only for a ‘single defence force, a single police service’. But times are moving on and he risks being left behind.

~ Source: Centre for Risk Analysis

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