Drug dealers openly trade in Boksburg as SAPS fails to act
This was revealed in a reply to a Parliamentary question Mike Waters MP (DA Lethabong constituency head) recently asked.
According to the reply, there are supposed to be two detectives per vehicle and, while the 42 detectives have 22 cars between them, two are currently at the mechanical workshop.
“One of the vehicles has been there since April 20, and the most recent was sent to the mechanical workshop on May 26,” Waters said.
In addition, he added, detectives are carrying 52 cases on average, or 1 144 cases for the entire precinct, this despite an undertaking by the Minister that ”the recommended average case load per investigating officer is between 40 and 45 case dockets”.
“This means that our detectives are carrying more than the maximum number of cases than they should be carrying, which not only places immense pressure on them, but affects the quality of investigation a detective can offer,” Waters said.
He will be questioning the above caseload figure, as a recent visit to the station revealed a very different picture, where they were informed that the station had 18 752 cases on hand.
“It is hard to believe that 17 608 cases have been finalised since our visit,” Waters said.
In addition, he said, only 36 of the 42 detectives have attended and passed the detective course,” he added.
“This does not mean that the six detectives who have not attended the course are not good at their jobs, but it does highlight the fact that the SAPS does not take the training of our detectives seriously.
“If the public is to regain trust in the SAPS, the top brass must ensure that the men and women on the ground are not only trained properly, in order to ensure a standardised quality of investigation, but that our detectives are resourced adequately, with vehicles and other necessities.”
Waters will be writing to the MEC for Public Safety in Gauteng, as she is responsible for ensuring the police officers are adequately trained and competent.
He will also write to the National Minister of Police, questioning when additional detectives and vehicles will be allocated to the police station.
Boksburg North SAPS has no record of memorandum
