The Western Cape government and the SA Police Service (SAPS) on Monday formally launched the Lawyers in Police Stations Project, a programme that places a practising lawyer at selected police stations to provide day-to-day legal mentorship, guidance on statements and support to communities.
Pilot deemed successful; phased expansion planned
Premier Alan Winde announced the initiative at the launch, describing the intervention as an effort to support policing at station level where resource constraints often affect service delivery. An independent evaluation of the pilot at Grassy Park SAPS, which began in March 2025, reportedly found the programme had resulted in improved investigative processes. Following that assessment, the project has been expanded to the Mitchells Plain policing precinct, with plans for further rollouts including the Stellenbosch policing precinct and other national locations.
“This initiative recognises a fundamental reality: effective policing begins at police-station level,” Premier Winde said, adding: “We must do everything we can to help the SAPS and the criminal justice system.”
Major General Michael Jojo, representing the Western Cape SAPS commissioner, described the project as “a fruitful engagement to assist police and benefit the community.” Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Anroux Marais, said the programme focuses on strengthening technical capacity at stations rather than taking over police functions.
How the programme works
The project places a lawyer at identified stations on a full-time basis for three years. The stated objectives are to:
- provide ongoing legal mentorship and training for SAPS members;
- offer guidance on statements to improve evidentiary quality;
- deliver legal advice and community support aimed at better investigative outcomes.
Officials emphasised the lawyer’s role is advisory and capacity-building, not to perform policing duties or to interfere in operational decisions.
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Placement | One full-time lawyer at a station for three years |
| Pilot site | Grassy Park SAPS (from March 2025) |
| Current expansion | Mitchells Plain precinct |
| Planned rollouts | Stellenbosch precinct and other national locations |
Context and potential implications
The initiative arrives amid ongoing concerns about resourcing and capacity across police stations nationally. The provincial government framed the project as an innovative supplement to calls for more equitable allocation of law-enforcement resources. If the independent evaluation findings are borne out on a larger scale, mentors embedded at station level could improve statement-taking and early investigational steps that are crucial for later prosecutions.
However, the long-term impact will depend on several factors that were not detailed at the launch: the availability and selection of suitably experienced lawyers, mechanisms for oversight and accountability, how the advisory role will interact with station commanders’ responsibilities, and whether the model can be replicated in stations with differing crime profiles and resource constraints.
Officials said plans are under way for further expansions within the Western Cape and to “other national locations”. The partnership includes the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI‑TOC), which was named as a project partner at the launch.
The project offers a potentially replicable model for strengthening the technical aspects of policing at station level, but its effectiveness will require careful monitoring, transparent reporting of outcomes and clarity about the limits of the lawyers’ role in operational policing.
