---
title: "Lawyers to help Western Cape cops sharpen court dockets"
description: "A police station is often where a criminal case is either strengthened or quietly weakened beyond repair. Defective statements, gaps in evidence and poorly prepared dockets can unravel prosecutions long before a case reaches court, leaving victims without justice and communities increasingly distrustful of the police."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "CRIMINAL JUSTICE"
author: "Vincent Cruywagen"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/vincent-cruywagen-2/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-18-lawyers-to-help-western-cape-cops-sharpen-court-dockets/"
published: "2026-08-18T20:37:14"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 999
---

# Lawyers to help Western Cape cops sharpen court dockets

> A police station is often where a criminal case is either strengthened or quietly weakened beyond repair. Defective statements, gaps in evidence and poorly prepared dockets can unravel prosecutions long before a case reaches court, leaving victims without justice and communities increasingly distrustful of the police.

By Vincent Cruywagen · Published 18 August 2026, 22:37 SAST

## Key points
- Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and community safety MEC Anroux Marais launched the Lawyers in Police Stations Project in Mitchells Plain — a partnership with SAPS and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime to place legal mentors inside police stations.
- Legal practitioner Malikah Schaffers will be based at Mitchells Plain for three years, guiding officers on statement-taking, evidence and docket preparation — without taking over investigations — to turn arrests into court-ready cases.
- The programme follows a successful Grassy Park pilot and comes amid rampant gang violence, low public confidence (22% trust in SAPS) and worrying figures — 243 cases struck off in a six-month review (89 GBV) and 1,853 withdrawn statutory-rape cases over five years.
- Officials hope the model will boost convictions and restore community trust; GI‑TOC calls it a pragmatic test that could be expanded to Stellenbosch and beyond, while warning a lone lawyer won’t fix systemic problems overnight.

## Content

On Tuesday, 18 August, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais formally launched the Lawyers in Police Stations Project, a partnership between the Western Cape government, SAPS and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) in Mitchells Plain.

Under the project, lawyers will be deployed to police stations to help officers improve statements, evidence and docket preparation while keeping investigations firmly with SAPS.

The initiative comes at a critical time for Mitchells Plain, where residents remain under siege from gang violence, there are regular gang-related shootings, and witnesses are often reluctant to come forward for fear of reprisal.

[FOR CONTEXT

Western Cape army deployment — a plaster on gaping gang gunshot wounds

April 14, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/J-_IXFmlxkCvxLolmcAC4TcsTmM=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/ED_603854_749957.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-04-14-western-cape-army-deployment-a-plaster-on-gaping-gang-gunshot-wounds/)

Legal practitioner Malikah Schaffers will be based at Mitchells Plain Police Station for three years, mentoring officers on statement-taking, evidence and case preparation, without taking over investigations.

![Vince-Winde-Marais-Shaw](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/wpDWpG9JfbKyAEK3-wcgp7KEW-c=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/MalikahSchaffersLegalPractitionerwhowillbebasedatMitchellsPlainSAPS_357622.jpeg)

*Legal practitioner Malikah Schaffers will operate from Mitchells Plain Police Station for three years. (Photo: SAPS)*

Winde said the project began at Grassy Park Police Station in March 2025 after the precinct was identified as carrying a heavy burden of serious and organised crime. An independent evaluation found improvements in investigative processes, prompting the expansion to Mitchells Plain.

Plans are also under way to expand the model to Stellenbosch and other locations. Winde said the initiative sought to strengthen police capacity and ensure arrests translated into stronger dockets and successful prosecutions.

### Capacity boost

Winde underlined that the overall objective was not to take over or interfere in police functions. Instead, the stated objective was to strengthen officers’ technical capacity and the skills of station personnel, and to improve the quality of policing.

The initiative recognises a fundamental reality: effective policing begins at police-station level. Far too many police stations across the Western Cape and the country are facing serious resourcing constraints which often affect service delivery.

“While law enforcement agencies must work hard to prevent crime and increase arrests, this must be followed by successful prosecutions. Through this project we are tangibly offering assistance to officers to build up watertight cases,” Winde said.

The project also highlights a deeper problem in the criminal justice chain: an arrest is only the beginning of a criminal case.

If statements are defective, evidence is poorly managed or investigative procedures are not followed, cases can collapse, denying victims justice.

![Vince-Winde-Marais-Shaw](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/ystbktiAy7Qr5wet_pIRCwfshg0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PremierWindeandAbieIsaacs_443422.jpeg)

*Premier Alan Winde (left) at the launch of the Lawyers in Police Stations Project. Abie Isaacs (right), chairperson for the Mitchells Plain Safety and Development Forum, told Winde the initiative would go a long way to ensuring cases ended up in court. (Photo: SAPS)*

### Why the initiative is important

The need for the initiative is underscored by persistent weaknesses in the criminal justice system.

Between April and September 2023, the Western Cape Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety’s Court Watching Briefs unit found that 243 cases monitored across 25 courts and linked to 58 SAPS stations were [struck off](https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/western-cape-police-oversight-and-community-safety-gender-based-violence-0) the roll because of SAPS inefficiencies. Of these, 89 were gender-based violence cases.

The problem extends beyond the Western Cape. In June, the parliamentary police committee raised concerns about the [high number of withdrawn statutory rape cases](https://parliament.gov.za/news/police-committee-alarmed-withdrawal-nearly-1-900-statutory-rape-cases?utm_source=chatgpt.com) over the past five years — the SAPS told the committee that 1,853 cases had been withdrawn between 2020/21 and 2024/25.

The SAPS attributed the withdrawals to a range of factors, including harmful cultural beliefs, social and economic pressures, barriers to reporting, fear of victimisation and stigma, as well as families and communities opting for alternative forms of dispute resolution.

Committee chairperson Ian Cameron said the SAPS needed to urgently develop mechanisms to prevent the withdrawal of statutory rape cases and strengthen accountability for adults who failed to report such crimes.

Against this backdrop, placing trained legal professionals closer to the point where cases enter the criminal justice system could help address technical weaknesses before they reach prosecutors and the courts and derail prosecutions — while also improving confidence between communities, police and the courts.

### Legal mentors can restore trust in police

Marais emphasised the rebuilding of trust between police and communities, a relationship often strained by frustrations related to unsuccessful prosecutions.

According to the[Human Sciences Research Council,](https://hsrc.ac.za/news/latest-news/still-feeling-blue-changing-patterns-of-trust-in-the-police-in-south-africa-since-the-late-1990s-2/) public trust in the South African Police Service has dropped to a historic low of 22%. This figure comes from the South African Social Attitudes Survey, marking the lowest level of confidence recorded in 27 years.

GI-TOC executive director Mark Shaw said, “The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime has supported more than 300 projects worldwide, including in communities severely affected by organised crime and violence.”

Its experience, Shaw said, showed that community resilience depended on strengthening the rule of law, effective local policing and trust between communities and police.

“Working with SAPS and provincial partners, this initiative aims to strengthen all three by improving service delivery and access to legal expertise,” Shaw said.

Shaw cautioned that the presence of a single lawyer could not resolve the broader challenges facing the criminal justice system. But, he said, Mitchells Plain provided an important opportunity to test and refine a practical model that, if successful, could grow and be replicated elsewhere.

![Vince-Winde-Marais-Shaw](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/y8vCWhRtccnGgtjTgz9YnQ9g5vs=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/L-R-BrigBrianMullerMinisterAnrouxMaraisMajGnlMichaelJojoPremierAlanWindeAbieIsaacsMarkShaw_712181.jpeg)

*From left: Brigadier Brian Muller, Western Cape Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais, SAPS Major General Michael Jojo, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, chairperson of the Mitchells Plain Safety and Development Forum Abie Isaacs and GI-TOC executive director Mark Shaw attend the official launch of the Lawyers in Police Stations Project on Tuesday, 18 August. (Photo: SAPS)*

Major General Michael Jojo, representing the Western Cape SAPS commissioner, said the project could assist police and benefit the community.

Mitchells Plain Safety and Development Forum chairperson Isaacs said the initiative was a crucial step for the community.

“Technical flaws in statement-taking can dismantle case dockets before they even reach a courtroom, robbing victims of justice and eroding public trust. Having legal mentors work alongside local officers provides the practical guidance needed to build watertight cases,” he said. **DM**