Visit to Sebenza SAPS reveals highs and lows at station
Of the 22 vehicles the station has, 12 are in for repairs. two have been in for repairs for the last 14 months.
The DA visited the Sebenza SAPS on Monday, September 22.
The visit formed part of the party’s oversight obligations.
Both positive and negative aspects pertaining to the Sebenza SAPS were revealed during the visit.
According to Member of Parliament, Mike Waters, “Various positives were revealed during the visit. One of the key positives is that the Sebenza SAPS improved its reaction time from a nine-minute average response time last year to a seven-minute average response time this year.”
It was also revealed that crime in general has come down within the precinct. The crimes that affect the Sebenza area most commonly are theft of motor vehicles, house breakings, carjacking and house robberies.
On the negative side, the Sebenza SAPS is severely short of vehicles. Of the 22 vehicles the station has, 12 are in for repairs. two have been in for repairs for the last 14 months.
According to Mr Waters, “As a result of this shortage, 13 detectives and their officer sharing two vehicles, there is one vehicle for the crime office, four vehicles for the customer service centre and crime prevention and three vehicles for administration”.
“The fact that 13 detectives and their officer have to share two vehicles is ridiculous and it has had a direct impact on the number of cases each detective is carry as they cannot finalise cases. The average case load per detective is 70,” said MP Waters.
“We are also concerned that the provincial office has reduced the number of policing sectors across the province and that Sebenza has reduced its number of sectors from four to two. I will also be asking questions at Parliament in this regard,” said MP Waters.
Members of the Sebenza SAPS are going for their maintenance shooting training in order to ensure that all police members can use their firearms properly.
“One concerning issue is that four police members failed the training and the follow up training. However, the firearms have been taken away from whose who failed until they pass the shooting test,” said Mr Waters.
“Another issue I intend taking up with the minister is that the Sebenza police station is no longer moving, despite hundreds of residents signing a petition. Apart from the building not being suitable for a police station and flooding during the rainy season, it’s location at the far end of the precinct does not make it accessible to the people it serves,” said MP Waters.
