Cape Town - In commemoration of Women’s Day, the Western Cape Premier’s office hosted an event in Delft, coinciding with the deployment of 191 Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers on the Cape Flats.
Premier Alan Winde, accompanied by the City’s Mayco Member for Safety and Security JP Smith and Kraaifontein police station commander Brigadier Gerda van Niekerk, on Tuesday attended a Women’s Day event in Delft South, to highlight and recognise the role of female officers who are protecting and policing Cape communities.
Winde said that joining the women-led walkabout along with police had been a privilege and the perfect opportunity to thank and celebrate women working within the law enforcement sector to protect and safeguard various communities across the province.
“Women are playing a leading role in safeguarding communities most affected by crime across our province and country. From our neighbourhood watch patrols to women in uniform, these remarkable women are leading from the front in building a safer South Africa.
“I thank you, our brave women in safety, for your important role and I call on our communities to back you so that we all play our part in protecting our homes and loved ones,” said Winde.
The latest deployment of the additional group of LEAP officers to communities including Kraaifontein, Mfuleni and Harare forms part of the Western Cape Safety Plan’s directive to promote safety in the province and halve the murder rate over the next 10 years through a combination of violence prevention programmes.
1/3 Today, I had the privilege of joining a women-led walkabout with members of SAPS, the local neighbourhood watches and Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) law enforcement officers along Delft Main Road in Cape Town.
— Premier Alan Winde (@alanwinde) August 10, 2021
Full statement here: https://t.co/gIb4MLMOiR pic.twitter.com/Qldc0Bxo2e
3/3 I thank you, our brave women in safety, for your important role and I call on our communities to back you too so that we all play our part in protecting our homes and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/koYL8h5ttA
In efforts to uplift and empower women, the Department of Community Safety is offering self-defence and first aid training to the women. The department will partner the Chrysalis Academy, together with which they will host a series of workshops and sessions.
“We want to acknowledge our women and thank them for everything that they are doing in our communities. Without them and the work they do, very often voluntarily, I am certain our society would collapse.
“As the Department of Community Safety, we will continue to work with our women to ensure their empowerment in real, concrete ways,” said Albert Fritz, the MEC for Community Safety.
nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za