The City of Cape Town says expanded Metro Police powers would help strengthen criminal cases, while Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis argues SAPS needs support in combating gang, gun and drug crimes.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has lodged an intergovernmental dispute with Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia over the City’s demand for expanded powers for Metro Police officers to investigate certain crimes.
The dispute, lodged in terms of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, follows years of engagements between the City and successive Police Ministers over allowing municipal policing structures to take on a greater role in crime investigations.
The City said the dispute will now trigger mandatory mediation with Cachalia in an effort to resolve the matter collaboratively and in good faith without resorting to litigation.
Hill-Lewis said Cape Town’s Metro Police were ready to assist the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in dealing with violent crime, particularly gang, gun and drug-related offences.
