A recent visit to Durban’s Berea SAPS by ward councillor Martin Meyer and MPL Dr Rishigen Viranna, has revealed that the station cannot be accessed by the elderly or the disabled. The problem has resulted in police officers having to attend to these individuals either in their vehicles or at the side of the road.
The oversight visit last week revealed that there is no access route available to wheelchairs or the elderly from Botanic Gardens Road. Instead, there is an extremely steep path up to the station which ends at stairs.
A wheelchair ramp, built some three years ago, is only accessible from an unmarked narrow back road and is so poorly constructed that most wheelchairs cannot get around the corners. It is also too steep for the elderly to use safely.
“It is unacceptable that this already vulnerable sector of the public must endure further hardship when trying to report a crime,” said Dr Viranna.
The same visit also revealed numerous serious infrastructure defects at the police station. While the police have occupied the premises for some 45 years, the building itself is almost 100 years old.
“Some of the problems I witnessed include the building, constructed mostly of wood, is a fire hazard due to numerous exposed electrical wires throughout as a result of poor maintenance.
“The Community Service Centre (charge office) is cramped with limited seating for the public and the wooden floor boards are seemingly infested with wood borer forcing police officers to watch where they step.
“The holding cells have been condemned so arrested persons have to be transported to Durban Central Police Station, meaning that vehicles which should be used for patrols are now used for prisoner transport,” he said.
Other issues raised included the fact the staff and public toilets were crumbling and in an unhygienic state. The station only employs one cleaner who cannot handle the volume of work.
There are no proper parking facilities for police vehicles, forcing SAPS members to use a narrow residential back road or to double park on Botanic Gardens Road.
This unsecured parking has resulted in many accidents and damage to police vehicles and parking fines issued by eThekwini Municipality. Facilities for police staff are in a poor state with their rest area small and dirty.
“Despite three different promises that the police station had been prioritised for renovation, nothing has happened to date.
“This has had a massive impact on police morale and the many dedicated and hardworking police officers at this station are increasingly unmotivated by their poor working environment and the lack of support from provincial police officials regarding these conditions,” he said.
Viranna said he would be writing to KZN Community Safety MEC, Willies Mchunu, requesting that he look into the current maintenance programme at this police station.
“I will also ask what has happened to plans to build a new SAPS station – land for such a facility has already been identified – and request that he provide an update on progress made in this regard. Neither SAPS officials, nor members of the public can be expected to use the current facility any longer,” he said.
Berea SAPS spokesperson, Lt Poobalan Naidoo, said: “The situation at Berea SAPS regarding the lack of access for the elderly and disabled had been reported to head office via the correct channels, an access ramp had been put from the back entrance of the station via Halford Road, however we are on the waiting list for major renovations. As a station all efforts have been made to rectify this situation.”
