The City of Cape Town honoured Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers this morning for their contribution to lowering the murder rate in the province and making communities safer.

Executive Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, handed over commendation certificates to shift leaders and officers at a special event. Three individual and six group awards were handed out.

‘I want to express my gratitude to the LEAP teams who are doing exceptional work in communities where they are deployed. It is vital that as a City, we do what we can to fill the gaps of a severe lack of policing resources. The City of Cape Town is pleased by the clear decreases in the murder rate, and increased drug and gun crime detections where these LEAP resources have been deployed, in partnership with the Western Cape Government. We are determined to build on these achievements and continue to make Cape Town safer,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

‘The officers who received commendations are only the tip of the spear. The more than 1 100 LEAP officers currently deployed have made an enormous impact on the communities hardest hit by violent crime. LEAP is not a magic wand and there is no quick fix to the crime scourge in our communities, but the initiative is definitely making a difference.

‘Every officer should be lauded for their selfless dedication to the communities they serve and their commitment to making these areas safer. LEAP teams are deployed to police stations across the Province, where SAPS have recorded the highest statistics for categories of violent crime. Already nine SAPS precincts are benefitting from the programme, with LEAP officers to be deployed to another three precincts in the near future,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

The D Shift of Bishop Lavis was nominated for the best performing team.

The shift made 66 arrests in the last three months, which includes arrests for possession of drugs, firearms and possession of stolen property. Large amounts of drugs were also confiscated.

The shift consists of 10 members and the exceptional efforts of this team goes a long way in ensuring that Bishop Lavis is safer.

Other teams that received commendations for Best Team Performance are Mitchells Plain D shift, Nyanga C Shift, Kraaifontein D Shift, Delft A shift and the Kuyasa, Harare, Khayelitsha A Shift.

Source: City Of Cape Town