It's 3pm in the afternoon and residents of Saxonsea, an Atlantis suburb known for gang-related crime, trying to escape the heat, sitting under trees.
As the police accompanied by LEAP officers move in, residents take in the curious sight.
Leaning on her gate, Cornelia Logenstein takes a pamphlet with information on how to report crimes. Shocked, she said even though they had never seen as many police officers in their community in one go.
The 57-year-old explained that they were used to hearing gunshots in the middle of the night. But there seemed to be a reduction in shootings over the last few months. She and her neighbours were hopeful the reprieve might last.
“Saxonsea can be wild at times, we couldn’t sleep, it would be like it’s daytime, the shootings and the drug addicts walking up and down.
“Everything has calmed down now and we hope it will stay that way,” she said.
The Western Cape's Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers and police conducted the walkabout in a bid to woo residents into working alongside police and report incidents in order to reduce crime in the area.
After a quick briefing from MEC for Community Safety and Police Oversight, Reagen Allen flanked by Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith, the police began to interact with the residents.
The first stop was at the Hoop Crescent where Smith spoke to some residents and encouraged them to call the numbers on the documents.
Ward councillor Allister Lightburn said the safety walk was for residents to engage with police and to show them the tools deployed to help bring down crime. This included a drone used in hotspots, including Saxonsea.
“This is one of the places affected by a lot of gang shootings, the most recent shooting was three weeks ago.
“Before the flare up, we would have isolated incidents every other month,” Lightburn said.
He said he was happy with the conduct of officers deployed to the area.
Atlantis station commander, Colonel Cyril Nkuna said since the deployment of the additional manpower in 2021, there had been a notable change in crime patterns.
“Our murder and attempted cases have been reduced, there are stubborn crimes like rapes, common assault and assault with intent to cause grievously bodily harm,” he said.
“With the partnership between LEAP and SAPS, we were able to confiscate lots of firearms but it doesn’t mean that we need to relax, our feet are still on the pedals, we still have a lot of work to do in the next two months until the end of the financial year, but crime is an everyday thing.
“We have to fight, get those firearms and those drugs,” he said.
Allen explained that while they welcomed the reduction in murders, there was still a concern over other crimes, particularly rape.
“I’m upset that on one hand there are certain crime categories which have increased across Atlantis and many of those happened because there’s evil in Atlantis.
“Rape cases went up by more than 60% and the murder rate has been reduced by 25%, in the last quarter, which is highly appreciated.
“We are able to showcase that it is not just a number, it is a family which didn’t go to a funeral. That is because of all of your work and dedication,” Allen said.
In the 2019/2020 crime statistics, 62 murders were committed in the area, followed by 52 people in the following year.
Smith added that at the inception of the programme there were 100 officers deployed to the area but as crime levels decreased some members were redeployed in hotspot areas such as Mfuleni and Nyanga.
Since their deployments, LEAP officers have searched 1 226 homes, confiscated five firearms, arrested 364 suspects in possession of drugs, performed 2 461 hotspots patrols and handed out traffic by-law fines to the value of R1 520 900.
“In the last 10 months, the guys were busy, 16 000 people searched, (conducted) 305 vehicle check points ... concentrated on crime prevention and not only the by-law enforcement which is as it should be. A whole number of liquor inspections (were conducted) at liquor outlets.
“I want to tip my hat to the five firearms (confiscated). Atlantis, unlike Hanover Park and Manenberg, is not drowning in firearms, yes there are shootings but it’s not like Hanover Park where there were 800 rounds (fired) in two months,” he said.
After the walkabout, a vehicle checkpoint was set up where 20 traffic fines to the value of R20 000 were issued.
Around 42 vehicles were pulled over at the corner of Grosvenor Avenue and Hoop Crescent where one man was detained for riotous behaviour.
Weekend Argus