Cape Town is urgently urging Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to reconsider and expand his recently proposed regulations aimed at enhancing municipal policing powers, reports Cape town Etc .
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis made his stance clear this week following the ministers publication of new draft regulations, which are now open for public comment over a period of 60 days starting from 10 June.
While Hill-Lewis commended the ministers initial move, he expressed significant concern that the draft regulations remain vastly insufficient for the urgent needs of municipal police in the face of escalating crime rates.
We welcome the minister's willingness to expand municipal policing powers, but the draft regulations are far too limited. Our officers need more than just the existing powers to search and arrest they need criminal investigative powers to build prosecution-ready case dockets, Hill-Lewis said.
This call for expansion comes at a time of increasing frustration from Cape Town communities who bear the brunt of rampant gang- and drug-related violence.