Police explain delay in response to crime scene

The decontamination of the Polokwane Police Station is said to be the reason why police officials arrived about two hours late at Die Koraal Aftree-oord following the murder of Jakkie Grobler.
Provincial Police Spokesperson Brig Motlalefa Mojapelo says an official at the police station had tested positive for Covid-19 and the station was closed for decontamination on Monday, 21 September.
Grobler’s body was discovered by a friend who alerted the police at around 11:00.
According to Mojapelo the police arrived at the scene around 13:00 to attend to what was initially reported as an inquest, which then had to be changed to a murder case.
“If it had been reported as murder, the police would have treated it as an emergency. The officers who attended to the scene are not from the Polokwane Police Station but they would have been there earlier if the case was properly reported.”
Mojapelo says the police only left the scene at around 22:00 due to the necessary investigations involved in a murder case.
“Our forensic team was also called to the scene and they spent time gathering information for the preliminary investigations.”
In a separate incident, an incident of theft out of a motor vehicle case was reported to the Polokwane Police Station at 06:30 last Monday and officials only arrived to take a statement an hour later.
Upon arrival the forensics team was not available and three more hours were spent before they arrived.
Responding to this incident Mojapelo says the forensic team weighs out emergency cases and this was not considered an emergency because the crime was not in progress.
Mojapelo says with the shortage of resources the police usually attend to urgent and prioritised cases first.

Story: Umpha Manenzhe