Why giving metro police more powers can benefit SAPS and the fight against crime - experts

Increasing the power of metro police officers could help reduce the pressure on the South African Police Service (SAPS), experts say.

The mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, wrote to Police Minister Bheki Cele on Wednesday to request three more policing power reforms.

The reforms include amending the SAPS Act definition of "criminal investigation" to include municipal law enforcement; extending more Peace Officer powers to municipal officers, to combat serious offences such as gang, gun and drug crime; and giving metros a bigger say in setting local policing policy by including metro-specific policies in the National Policing Plan.