One thousand more Metro cops are getting ready to hit the streets of Cape Town to fight crime.
The City of Cape Town is currently training the candidates as part of “Project 1 000“ and yesterday they demonstrated the skills they’ve acquired.
Premier Alan Winde and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis joined a mass training session for Metro Police and LEAP learnership candidates together with Alderman JP Smith, Mayco member for Safety and Security, in Bellville.
The City intends growing its municipal policing resources to help SAPS fight crime.
The training commenced in December 2023 following an extensive recruitment process.
Smith explains: “Traditionally our training college had very limited capacity. Before LEAP, we were lucky to put 120 people through to college per year.
“What would frequently happen was that all kinds of projects would arise.
“The electricity department would say they need another 40 members, the rail enforcement unit (joint venture between the City, Prasa and provincial government) would pop up and ask for 120 members. There were special challenges which needed to be met.
“Our college could never get ahead. We were always struggling with these vacancies.
“And right at the start of the Mayor’s first term in office, he was able to leverage some funding and then opened that bottleneck and allowed us to appoint a significant number of additional staff, with over R30 million worth of investment made, including training colleges.”
The trainees demonstrated their fitness levels, their skills in arresting suspects, and doing stop-and-searches.
The programme offers youth the opportunity of an intense 18-month full-time learnership, including physical training, and training in legislation, among others.
Smith adds: “Project 1 000 builds on the LEAP programme, which has already deployed 1 300 new boots on the ground in crime hotspots via a partnership between the City and Western Cape Government.”
Premier Winde was impressed with the latest crop of crimefighters.
He says: “The impact our LEAP officers are making in tackling crime would not be possible without the type of intensive training regime we see on display here.
“The Western Cape Government commends the bravery of these recruits in choosing this line of work, and I wish them well.”
Mayor Hill-Lewis says he will be pouring R35 million into Project 1 000 this year.
He adds: “Our investments are showing promising results, particularly in helping SAPS to combat gang, gun, and drug crime.
“Overall, City policing operations confiscated 447 illegal firearms in the last two financial years.
“Firearm-related arrests went up 35% in 22/23, with law enforcement also doubling annual drug arrests from 4 000 to 8 000 over the same period.”