The Western Cape Government (WCG), City of Cape Town (CoCT), and Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) launched a new project yesterday at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation aimed at improving safety partnerships in the city and province.

The initiative, which will run until May 2025, is funded by the provincial government’s long-standing German partner province the Free State of Bavaria. The project focuses on strengthening data-driven and evidence-based policing approaches through building solid partnerships between numerous law enforcement agencies, including the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecution Authority (NPA). The Memorandum of Understanding signed yesterday extends and intensifies existing relations - first inked in 2018 - with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) as the key implementation partner.

“We must utilise this partnership, and others, to make our communities safer so our citizens and economy can prosper,” said Premier Alan Winde at the signing ceremony. He added, “Relationships like this are driven by the need to seek justice and offer our citizens dignity through safety. Apart from the partnerships we have with local authorities, we must double down on our commitments and also seek out new partnerships at home and abroad. We are constantly learning how to improve policing in the Western Cape. This can only be done if through our evidence-based and data-led methodology, the backbone of the Western Cape Safety Plan.”

At the same event, the long-running cooperation between the WCG and HSF on strengthening the capacity of local government, as well as the support of research focusing on key municipal challenges, was also renewed.

“This project is partnership-driven and based on years of cooperation between the Western Cape, its German partner province Bavaria, and the Hanns Seidel Foundation. We are honoured to cooperate with our committed partners the WCG, CoCT, SAPS and others. The rule of law matters. It matters for the sake of the safety and security of South Africans and for job creation. It is a crucial cornerstone of democracy. It needs to be protected and strengthened. This can be achieved through partnerships, leadership, and professional law enforcement” said Hanns Bühler, Resident Representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation. “This initiative equips law enforcement agencies to evaluate their own performance and encourages understanding of socio-economic and environmental factors that drive crime and the identification of crime hotspots,” explained the ISS’s Dr. Andrew Faull.

“Western Cape Police Oversight and Community Safety Minister Reagen Allen said, "This signing is significant and demonstrates how the WCG continues to work closely with both local and international partners. Their insights and expertise are invaluable as they relate to both domestic and foreign safety matters. Their investment in our country and particularly our province can only stand us in good stead, as we tackle crime across our communities. May this partnership grow from strength to strength."