Police Oversight and Community Safety
(a) What coordinated, measurable interventions are currently being implemented by her Department to (i) reduce gang violence and (ii) close drug dens and (b) what timelines has her Department set to ensure that these interventions lead to safer communities?
(a) (i) Strategic level
The Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety (POCS) serves as the lead coordinator of the provincial response to gang violence through the Anti-Gang Implementation Plan (AGIP). In this role, the Department provides strategic leadership, coordination, and oversight to ensure an integrated, evidence-led response across government and civil society.
POCS convenes and chairs the Anti-Gang Priority Committee, which acts as the central governance structure responsible for alignment, planning, and accountability across stakeholders. Through regular intergovernmental engagements, the Department facilitates coordinated interventions focused on identified gang violence hotspots and priority at-risk groups.
The Department further drives a targeted provincial approach by coordinating interventions across prevention, intervention, and suppression levels, and strengthening partnerships with different stakeholders. This ensures that departmental and transversal responses contribute to a unified strategy aimed at reducing gang violence and improving community safety.
Furthermore, in terms of interventions being implemented, POCS supports the following interventions, that directly or indirectly respond to the challenge with gang violence. Some of the critical interventions include:
Chrysalis Academy Training
The Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety, in partnership with Chrysalis Academy, implements a youth development programme aimed at diverting vulnerable young people from gangs, crime and substance abuse. The programme begins with a structured three-month residential training intervention focused on life skills, discipline, leadership, confidence-building and work readiness.
EPWP Internships
After completing the Chrysalis Academy training, graduates are placed in 12-month EPWP work opportunities through the Department’s Youth Work Programme. These internships provide a stipend, workplace exposure, practical experience and further skills development to improve employability. Placements are facilitated through partnerships with SAPS, the NPA, municipalities, CIDs, NGOs and other government departments.
The programme also links youth to further opportunities through partners such as Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, supporting job readiness, exit pathways and access to future employment or training.
Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP)
The Department administers the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP), in support of the Western Cape Safety Plan. LEAP was established to support SAPS in reducing gang violence, homicides and gun-related crime in affected communities. Currently, six permanent Area-Based Teams are deployed on a 24-hour basis with SAPS, to increase visibility and strengthen operational capacity. In addition, a 24-hour Reaction Unit supports three additional areas and responds to gang-related incidents outside LEAP areas. The closure of drug dens forms part of LEAP interventions and is undertaken jointly with SAPS. LEAP deployments are data-led and reviewed periodically to ensure resources are directed where they are most needed.
Peace Officer Support Programme
The Western Cape Safety Plan and the POCS Strategic Plan prioritises the strengthening of municipal law enforcement capacity across the Western Cape. Through its Law Enforcement and Peace Officer Support Programme, POCS will enter into formal Memorandums of Agreement with a minimum of 7 (seven) rural B- Municipalities, to strengthen the capacity of their Law enforcement during 2026/2027. This increased local enforcement capacity enables the municipality to improve its implementation of their operational enforcement plans, municipal safety plans and support the implementation of the Western Cape Safey Plan. Therefore over 100 Law enforcement and peace officers will be trained or upskilled and deployed during the 2026/2027 financial year. Over the last three years the Department, has supported the training and deployment of peace officers in all 24 local municipalities.
Neighbourhood watch programme
The Department of Police Oversight may not have direct,
measurable interventions to reduce gang violence; however, its Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) project contributes meaningfully to crime reduction by supporting policing efforts. Neighbourhood Watch volunteers operate in partnership with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Community Police Forums and strengthen community–police collaboration. They play a valuable role in supporting the police through patrols, visibility, and information sharing.
12. (a) (ii) The primary responsibility for closure of drug dens lies with the South African Police Service. However, the closure of drug dens forms part of LEAP interventions and is undertaken jointly with SAPS.
12. (b) The interventions implemented by the Department are ongoing and form part of a continuous, long-term violence and crime reduction approach in priority areas. While no fixed end date has been set, implementation is guided through existing departmental planning, coordination structures, and oversight processes that support sustained delivery and improvement of community safety outcomes.
