Western Cape deploys over 1,000 new police officers, yet remains understaffed
The Western Cape’s crime-fighting initiatives have been strengthened with an increase in police officers and additional vehicles.
Anroux Marais, the Western Cape’s Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, has expressed approval of the deployment of 1,013 new constables throughout the province.
Along with the increase in manpower, 83 new vehicles have also been handed over to police stations at various locations.
These efforts are set to tie in with launch of the provincial Safer Festive Season initiative.
Policing in the province is still under-resourced
In spite of this healthy increase in policing services, the Western Cape is still short on hands.
“While we welcome more policing resources, our province still desperately needs more officers,” Marais said.
“The Safer Festive Season campaign strives to protect all residents of our province.”
“High density operations under Operation Shanela, which include roadblocks, stop and searches and the tracking and tracing of wanted suspects, will dominate this period to ensure residents and visitors alike can enjoy a peaceful holiday period.”
The South African Police Service (SAPS), Western Cape Government (WCG) and various municipalities launched the campaign with a joint parade in Mitchells Plain this week.
The 1 013 new constables were welcomed into the Western Cape SAPS at a ceremony in Bishop Lavis on Friday. Keys to the 83 new vehicles were also handed over to officers at the event.
The handover was carried out by Marais, national Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Fannie Masemola, and his Western Cape counterpart, Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile.
Most of the cars will be used by detective services.
“This spirit of cooperation is precisely the same sentiment we saw at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the WCG, national government, SAPS and City of Cape Town in August, which will see us working closer together to eradicate crime to make our province safer,” Marais added.
“I am pleased to report that the negotiations about the Implementation Agreement, which gives practical effect to the principles outlined in the MoU, are progressing well.”