DA’s member of parliament and deputy chief whip Michael Waters revealed that Tembisa Police Station had a 65 per cent shortage in visible policing leading to an inability to protect the community.
Waters said this after visiting the station on 5 July with DA councillor Philip Thamahane. “We also learned that there have been seven murders within the precinct in June and that within the first three days of July, two more people have been murdered.”
Waters added that visible policing was crucial in curbing crime and that the police station had five sectors that should have two visible policing vehicles and two officers for patrol. “The station, therefore, needs 20 police officers for this purpose.”
He said the visible policing unit also staffed the client service office, where people go to open cases. At least eight officers should be on duty in this office, at any given time, he added. Therefore, the station needed at least 28 police officers per shift. “However, the reality is a bleak picture,” said Waters.
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According to Waters, shift one, two and three each has 10 officers with a shortage of 18 in each. Shift four only has nine with a shortage of 19 officers.
He added that the situation worsened when officers took sick leave and annual leave, and said the Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula and the acting National Commissioner Lieutenant General Lesetja Mothiba must take full responsibility for the high crime rate and the chronic lack of police officers in the precinct.
“The residents of Tembisa deserve better police protection and their precinct must be urgently resourced. Failing to provide adequate policing is an affront on our constitutional right to safety and security.”
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