CAPE TOWN - The City of Cape Town has formally declared a dispute with national government in a renewed bid to secure greater policing powers, arguing that the current system is failing to tackle violent crime effectively.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the City will pursue legal action if mediation efforts fail to result in the devolution of key policing functions to local authorities.
Hill-Lewis argues that while Metro Police and LEAP officers are effective at making arrests and removing illegal firearms from the streets, they cannot carry investigations through to prosecution because that responsibility lies solely with the South African Police Service (SAPS).
According to the mayor, Metro Police officers can patrol communities, prevent crime and arrest suspects. However, once an arrest has been made, the case must be handed over to SAPS for investigation and prosecution.
"We do not have the power. The metro police officers do not have the power to investigate crime. They can do patrols, they can arrest criminals, they can stop crime if they see it happening in the process, but after that, they have to hand the person over to SAPS and that is where their job starts and ends."
Hill-Lewis says this is where the system is breaking down.
Hill-Lewis claims many cases are not properly investigated, resulting in suspects being released without facing justice.
He describes the situation as a "catch-and-release" criminal justice system, where officers repeatedly arrest the same suspects because cases fail to result in convictions.
"In the huge majority of cases, the case falls by the wayside. It falls off the desk because it isn't properly investigated. We get what I call the 'catch and release' criminal justice system, where the officers are arresting the same people over and over and over again."
The mayor says this pattern is particularly evident in cases involving illegal firearms.
According to Hill-Lewis, City officers arrest people carrying illegal guns every day, but only about five percent of those arrests lead to convictions. He claims the remaining 95 percent of suspects return to the streets.
Hill-Lewis argues that devolving investigative powers to the City would enable Metro Police to build stronger cases, improve conviction rates and make greater progress in reducing violent crime.
"If we can investigate those cases ourselves, we can make sure that those people get convicted," he added.