Hill-Lewis calls on police minister to grant CT metro police authority to investigate, prosecute cases

The City of Cape Town is calling on the minister of police to grant its metro police officers the authority to investigate and prosecute cases independently.

At present, legislation prevents any metro police department from conducting criminal investigations.

Speaking during a virtual council meeting on Thursday, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis criticised SAPS for failing to effectively police the metro.

He’s argued that empowering the city’s metro police with greater independence is the only way to tackle crime in Cape Town.

The 2016 white paper on policing recommends the creation of a regulatory framework to grant metropolitan police limited investigative powers, allowing them to conduct certain investigations independently.

Right now, all metro police departments are only permitted to support the South African Police Service in criminal investigations.

Hill-Lewis claims SAPS has been withdrawing some of its members from the city, which he said had strained law enforcement efforts.

The mayor maintained that the only viable solution was to empower the Cape Town Metro Police Department with greater authority.

"All we still need is for the police minister to grant our city police the powers of investigation so that we can help build cases and make those arrests and confiscations permanent."

He claimed that 1,300 SAPS officers had been withdrawn from Cape Town.

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