Why doesn’t the business plan provide for dedicated Metro Police officers instead of / in addition to dedicated Law Enforcement officers?

The Business Plan provides for two 24-7 Law Enforcement officers with powers to fine and arrest, travelling with the CID’s tactical vehicles for fast deployment to enforce all by-laws, including illegal shack building.

While Metro Police (municipal funded, not to be confused with SAPS which is funded nationally) have some additional powers, these relate to non-moving violations, certain specialised crimes and the execution of warrants, which are of limited additional benefit to CIDs.

There is a mechanism by which CIDs can deploy Metro Police officers, however there are numerous disadvantages. They are 3 times as expensive, require their own equipment, vehicle and training, all at the CID’s expense, and cannot be deployed on CID vehicles, limiting the command and control ability of the CID over their movements. The training and recruitment process is also much longer, hampering deployment.

These disadvantages outweigh the advantages of any additional powers over Law Enforcement officers, and to our knowledge no CIDs deploy any additional Metro Police.