Why devolving policing to the Western Cape Government is essential for local safety

Thomas Walters 

The call to devolve the mandate for policing - SAPS in the Western Cape to the Provincial Government - is no longer a matter of political preference; it is a very practical matter of necessity, accountability, and real justice for the people of the Western Cape. Currently, the SAPS is managed, led, and resourced by the national government and underpinned by a tradition of bureaucratic centralisation, cadre deployment and turning a blind eye to incompetence. It has lost sight of its constitutional duty.

The result is that our residents live under the daily shadow of violent crime, yet control over policing remains in the hands of a distant and increasingly detached national government. This national government does not have a comprehensive understanding of the issues in the Western Cape and has created a wall between themselves and that reality. They do not feel the anger, resentment, and helplessness that our constituents express at SAPS’ failure to curb crime. We live in it.

Most dangerous city 

Cape Town regularly ranks among the most dangerous cities in the world. Gangs, drugs, extortion, and organised crime run rampant while policing remains centralised, slow, and ineffective.  The mismatch between the scale of the problem and the capacity of SAPS under national control has reached breaking point. The Western Cape Government, under the leadership of the DA, has in the process proven over the last 16 years that it has the knowledge and skills to run its departments efficiently and free from corruption, and the evidence suggests that a devolved police service will be a huge, game-changing improvement.

A Broken System 

A look at station-level data exposes the rot at the core of SAPS's presence in the province.  High-crime stations like Manenberg (26.5%), Lentegeur (18.8%), and Delft (14.2%), suffer from alarming vacancy rates effectively crippling their ability to respond to emergencies, investigate crimes, and engage communities effectively. In fact, in eight crime hotspot precincts, not one has a vacancy rate below 8.5%. This staffing crisis is compounded by unmanageable detective caseloads. Detectives in Khayelitsha each handle an average of 126 cases at a time. In Manenberg, that number rises to 142. Even in slightly better-resourced areas like Delft, the average is still 78 - double what international benchmarks consider effective. These numbers are not just bureaucratic metrics; they represent the impossible task placed on detectives to effectively investigate every docket that comes across their desks. This leads to a lack of justice for victims, while criminals remain on the streets to commit more atrocities.

Organised Crime

In the first quarter of 2025, over 72,000 serious crimes were reported in the Western Cape - more than 30,000 of them were contact crimes or crimes against the person. This is a crisis that exposes a culture of violence and lawlessness that thrives in the vacuum of order created by SAPS’ continued ineffectiveness. There are currently more than 2,000 known drug houses operating across the Western Cape. While 697 drug houses were shut down last year, it must be noted that 629 of these were linked to organised crime, highlighting how the drug trade fuels the gang violence across our communities that often affects innocent victims. This is not a localised nuisance - this is a parallel criminal economy thriving under the nose of a fragmented policing system.

Extortion, construction mafia activity, and gun violence are symptoms of a law enforcement apparatus that is under-resourced, over-centralised, and structurally paralysed. The current national model is not just unfit for purpose - it is actively endangering lives.

Targeted approach 

Contrast this with the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP), a Western Cape Government initiative that proves what targeted, accountable, locally-driven law enforcement can achieve. Since its launch in 2020, LEAP officers have confiscated 745 illegal firearms, made over 40,000 arrests, and removed more than drugs worth more than R10 million from circulation. LEAP has shown a measurable impact in hotspots like Mitchells Plain, where murders have decreased. It works because it is grounded in local knowledge, rapid response, and a direct line of accountability to provincial leadership. It is not perfect, but it is proof of concept: when policing is local, it is more agile, more effective, and more trusted.

Devolution 

The Constitution already allows for a level of provincial policing oversight under Section 206, but this is weak and largely symbolic and can be devolved within the framework of the Constitution if there is a real will to do so. What the Western Cape needs is meaningful operational control of SAPS in the province - a localised policing model that must be built on four pillars:

1. Legislative Reform and funding: Parliament must amend laws to allow provinces with the capacity and need, like the Western Cape, to take over SAPS functions and transfer the accompanying funding to the Western Cape to allow the provincial government to follow best-practice benchmarks for police-to-population ratios based on crime prevalence and population density, as well as equipment repair and replacement needs.
2. Institutional Capacity: The Western Cape Government will invest in training, internal affairs, and stringent oversight from the Provincial Parliament to ensure integrity and professionalism.
3. Accountability Mechanisms: A meaningful and serious role must be given to Community Policing Forums and local oversight bodies to engage police leadership on the issues in their communities.
4. Integrated Policing: Even under devolution, cooperation with national law enforcement bodies will be maintained to include updates on the latest crime intelligence and national crime trends, successes and challenges shared across spheres of government.

A Moral Imperative

Devolution is not about political point-scoring and it certainly is not a silver bullet, but it is a necessary improvement on the current model. It is imperative that we change our approach to better meet the safety needs of our residents. It is a demand for dignity - for the right of communities to be protected by those who know their streets, their struggles, their names. The Western Cape Government has proven that it has the appetite, the capacity, and the track record to lead a locally accountable police force.

What it lacks is the legal power assigned to it from National Government. If the National Government cannot or will not act to address lawlessness, then it must get out of the way. This is not just a question of governance. It is a question of justice, obvious urgency, and a moral responsibility. We are not asking for a favour. We are demanding the right to protect our people. Let the Western Cape lead. The time for devolution is now.

*Walters is the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Police Oversight and Community Safety in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.

Weekend Argus