Detectives not trained, police under-resourced says DA
Police need more manpower and vehicles to do their jobs effectively.
The Primrose SAPS Detective Unit is severely under-resourced with manpower and vehicles according to the DA.
Mike Waters MP DA Lethabong constituency head said that this was revealed in a reply to a Parliamentary question he recently asked.
“According to the reply, there are supposed to be two detectives per vehicle and while the 33 detectives have 15 cars between them, four of them (27 per cent) are currently at the mechanical workshop.
“Some of the vehicles have been there since May 2 and the most recent one was sent to the mechanical workshop on May 17.
“This means that currently there are three detectives to one vehicle,” Waters said.
He added that in addition, detectives are carrying 50 cases on average or 1 650 cases for the entire precinct.
“What is of concern is that in another parliamentary reply, the minister stated ‘the recommended average case load per investigating officer is between 40 and 45 case dockets’.
“This means that the Primrose detectives are carrying more dockets than the maximum number of caseloads allowed.
“This not only places immense pressure on them but affects the quality of investigation a detective can offer,” Waters said.
Lastly according to Waters only 27 out of the 33 detectives have attended and passed the detective course meaning that six detectives (18 per cent) have not attended the course.
“This does not mean that these detectives are not good at their jobs but it does highlight the fact that the SAPS do not take the training of detectives seriously,” he said.
“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 detectives are resourced adequately, with vehicles and other necessities.
“I will be writing to the MEC of public safety in Gauteng as she is responsible for ensuring our police officers are adequately trained and competent.
“Furthermore I will write to the National Minister of Police questioning when additional detectives and vehicles will be allocated to the Primrose Police Station.”
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