Four new officers for Seshego police in 3 years
The Seshego community have resorted to forming their own safety and security groups but say they are blamed for taking the law into their own hands when conducting citizen's arrests.
POLOKWANE – The Seshego police station has only been allocated four new officers since 2020, and three relief vans this March, according to its communications unit.
This is despite constant development and expansion of its policing area, with already dwindling resources that include officers who either resign or retire, and faulty vehicles.
The station spokesperson, Sgt Ali Maluleke says each of the few vehicles services roughly five large villages on the township outskirts with a distance of roughly 40km in-between.
Residents in the policing area are garnering support for what they term a ‘never seen before’ protest demonstration, against the reported delay in services at the police station.
They say they have had enough of what they term the ‘nonchalant’ behaviour from the service, especially with the area experiencing an increase in substance abuse among youths.
Community members have now formed their own safety and security groups, where they effect a citizen’s arrest when a suspected criminal is found, but they say even meeting the police half way in this manner does not seem to add any urgency to their matters.
Instead, the community gets blamed for taking the law into their own hands, according to residents who spoke to BONUS on condition of anonymity.
As it stands, residents are drafting a memorandum of demands, organising to submit it not to the district commissioner’s office as protocol would demand, but directly into the hands of the provincial police commissioner, Lt Gen Thembi Hadebe.
The community, however, also relates having witnessed “a cohort of fresh officers from college last month”, and an unspecified figure of vans added in March onto the fleet.
Maluleke acknowledged that there is pressure on the station and said that despite their efforts as officials, the policing area is under-resourced.
He says the station will inform the local powers about the looming demonstration.
“During the 2021 and 2022 college intakes, we were hopeful to get at least more officers to assist as our policing areas increase almost on a year to year basis due to new villages or extensions to Seshego,” he told BONUS.
