Westville CPF and Muslim community help make SAPS station safer

FOLLOWING the recent spate of violent attacks at police stations around the country, most notably the attacks at Edendale SAPS and Ncgobo in the Eastern Cape, Police Minister, Bheki Cele, recently addressed the need for police stations to be made more secure to ensure the safety of not only staff but also the equipment and evidence stored in these buildings.

Attacks even take place closer to home too, such as the shooting in 2014 of a policeman in the Pinetown SAPS, which the Highway Mail reported on at the time.

Wayne Le Roux of the Westville Community police forum explained that police stations, being public buildings, need to deal with much red tape to have structural and even minor maintenance taken care of, which is why the CPF have taken it upon themselves to look after the building and make sure police have all they need to provide the valuable service to the community they are mandated to provide.

“With the instruction being given to make police stations safer, we realised if it went through official channels it could take years to get things done,” said Le Roux who explained that the department of public works sometimes had delays of between three to five years to have small alterations made and items repaired.

“For instance, we recently as the CPF, just made sure all the lighting was working by replacing 27 globes,” he said indicating how the community manages to help with these practical matters.

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Westville police station’s beautifully maintained grounds, gardens and other facilities bear testimony to how well this is working in the suburb.

After the standing orders to secure police stations was made, the CPF executive asked at a meeting for help and the Westville Muslim community raised its hand and donated the funding for the upgrade, while Asad Patel, a local businessman, donated the labour by doing the installation free of charge.

“The cost was over R30 000,” said Le Roux explaining that it would have taken some time to get the funding authorised through official channels.