The Democratic Alliance (DA) will present a memorandum to the Ministers of Police and Justice to devolve policing capacity to municipal authorities.

Lisa Schickerling MP, the DA Spokesperson on Police, said that her party "welcomes the submission of a memorandum, to be signed by all Western Cape DA mayors, to the Ministers of Police and Justice…demand[ing] to empower capable municipalities with the policing powers and resources needed to make our communities safer."

According to Schickerling, "This week alone, over 37 lives have been brutally taken, marking a shocking surge in deadly crime across the province [of the Western Cape]. On top of this, the ongoing and escalating taxi violence continues to wreak havoc, further destabilising our communities and undermining the economy… We cannot allow this crisis to continue unchecked. It is time for a united front to tackle crime with the urgency and seriousness it demands."

South Africa records some of the highest levels of serious and violent crime in the world. The murder rate, which determines the number of intentional homicide deaths per 100 000 people per annum, stood at 45 last year. According to the World Bank, the global average is nearer 6.

Schickerling said that her party welcomed the willingness of Acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, to engage with her party "in a far more open and constructive manner than his predecessor… [and that] where former Minister Bheki Cele arrogantly declared that the devolution of policing would happen 'over my dead body,' the new Acting Minister has made it clear that the door must remain open and conversations must continue."

According to Schickerling, "The Western Cape needs greater management control, proper deployment strategies, and most importantly, strengthened detective and investigative capacity to fight this battle effectively. Evidence from our province has already shown that when skilled legal professionals are deployed to assist at police stations, drafting statements and supporting investigations, the quality of dockets improves dramatically. We need more of this, not less."

Policing experts consulted by The Common Sense, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the devolution of policing powers to capable municipalities would work very well as it would vastly improve the management of policing resources and officers on the ground without the need to fix the upper echelons of the South African Police Service (SAPS) first.

The SAPS is widely regarded as wracked with political factionalism, corruption, and incompetence. Last week The Common Sense reported that not a single internal disciplinary action for corruption had been initiated by the SAPS during the first quarter of 2025.

South Africans have a low opinion of, and low levels of trust in, the SAPS.

A report by the non-profit group Corruption Watch found that "of those who approached the police for help, nearly half (45%) said they had trouble in getting the necessary assistance, with 33% saying it was difficult, and 12% saying it was very difficult to gain the cooperation of SAPS… nearly one-fifth, or 18%, reported having to bribe an officer to get help, while 81% said they did not pay a bribe… of those who encountered the police in other types of situations, 25% reported having had to pay a bribe, give a gift, or do a favour to avoid problems – 3% of these said they had to do this 'often' during the previous year."

Corruption Watch also wrote that "citizens are vocal in their levels of distrust [of the SAPS]… just one-third (32%) of South Africans said they trust the police 'somewhat' (21%) or 'a lot' (11%), while more than four in 10 (43%) reported no trust at all."

Schickerling has asked Minister Cachalia to "set out a clear deadline by which he will respond to this memorandum and indicate the steps his department will take to expedite the devolution of policing powers to the Western Cape and other capable municipalities."