Officers are officers at all times, says top cop

Any officer in uniform has the responsibility to attend to the needs of the community.
This was the response by Polokwane Station Commander, Brigadier Gift Makhubele, who this week said it was disappointing to hear about officers who do not attend to the community, regardless of whether they were called to the scene or not.
His comment came after a journalist from Polokwane Observer notified the station of complaints from the community where police officials did not assist as they had not been dispatched to the scene of a crime or an emergency.
In one instance, an attempted house-breaking had just taken place and the residents managed to catch the suspect and restrain him at the house before calling the police.
A police van passed the residence in Bendor and proceeded to park along Veldspaat Street when residents approached the officers to ask for assistance.
“The policeman asked if we had called 10111 and we told them we did, they then said to us that there was no need for them to help us because surely the police were on their way,” says the resident who opted to remain anonymous.
He says they were shocked at the response from the officers and decided to take down their number plate and names in order to report the matter.
Makhubele says this was a great initiative so that police officers who do not execute their duties diligently, could be reported.
“If any member of the community is not satisfied with the assistance of any officer attached to the Polokwane Police Station, then they can call me directly to complain about their conduct and I will ensure it is attended to.”
In a separate incident, a collision between two vehicles took place in full view of police officers who subsequently did not leave their vehicles to assist.
The vehicle registration numbers were also noted and the matter was reported.