Mayor hails progress at Cape Town’s major new policing nerve centre

01 September 2026

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the City’s major new policing nerve centre will expand state-of-the-art coordination and real-time response to crime. The Mayor viewed progress at the new 8000m2 facility – known as the Joint Public Safety Operations Centre (JPSOC) - in Goodwood on Monday together with Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.

The new digital nerve centre will integrate all City policing resources and safety technologies already deployed throughout the metro.

‘I was excited to see progress on our new policing nerve centre today, which is almost ready to roll as the major new coordination hub for City policing and safety technology. This is the next big step forward in making Cape Town safer for everyone.

‘We’ve grown our policing personnel by 1 300 officers in this term of office - to over 3 800 officers - while investing in cutting-edge safety technologies and digital coordination.

‘Now this major new operations centre will coordinate expanded policing efforts, making the City an even stronger partner to SAPS in the fight against crime.

‘This new JPSOC is also further evidence that our City policing services are ready and able for expanded powers, especially to investigate gang, gun and drug crime. We must make full use of all policing resources in Cape Town to bring a positive change for communities living in daily fear of violent crime,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

The JPSOC will integrate a range of existing and emerging policing technologies, including:

• Drones, operated through the City’s Aviation Unit as well as third-party service providers
• Body-Worn Cameras (BWC), In-Vehicle Cameras (IVC) and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology
• Citizen and Trusted Partner Apps to strengthen communication and information sharing
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation

Alderman Smith said the City’s bodycam deployment will soon reach 3 000 cameras in the field, while 530 enforcement vehicles have In-Vehicle Cameras (IVCs) with Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) functionality and printers for warrants and summons.

The Metro Police Strategic Surveillance Unit (SSU) further detected 41 005 incidents via CCTV in 2025/26, resulting in 541 arrests - an 18% increase on the year before.

‘The various safety tech solutions we’ve introduced help create a real-time operational picture to improve situational awareness and inform decision-making. We are now at a point where officers can stream live feeds to our operations centre from their mobile cameras, augmented by drone, ANPR and CCTV footage. I am excited to see how we can keep building on this to advance public safety into the future.

   

‘We are also heartened by the 35% increase in SAPS requests to view our footage as a potential investigative resource. As we work to expand our digital coordination and safety technology network, the potential evidentiary benefits increase the chances of successful prosecutions,’ added Alderman Smith.

CAPTION: Mayor Hill-Lewis and Alderman Smith receive a progress update on the City’s major new Joint Public Safety Operations Centre (JPSOC) in Goodwood. Safety technology and new policing vehicles were also on display.

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