Democratic Alliance’s police watch campaign pays spot visit to Honeydew police station

Democratic Alliance (DA) members of the Gauteng Legislature have embarked on a fact-finding mission at the province’s police stations.

Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL), Nico de Jager was accompanied by Ward 101 councillor Ralf Bittkau and PR councillor Dalu Cele, as the DA delegation held a spot inspection of Honeydew Police Station on July 27. The DA police watch campaign will be inspecting almost 150 police stations with the aim of identifying each station’s resource complement and logistical challenges to better understand the province’s crime-fighting capacity.

Honeydew police station commander, Brigadier Anesh Maharaj welcomed the delegation openly and was accommodating in answering MPL De Jager’s list of questions. The police station is a permanent fixture in the upper bracket of South Africa’s crime statistics, making this particular visit one of significance. The station covers four sectors and as per operational documents, 108 square kilometres of policing precinct.

Statistics tell only a part of the story

Of the four sectors, the Honeydew policing precinct includes Zandspruit and the Cosmo City areas, with that sector having a satellite station that Brigadier Maharaj has been eager to make a fully fledged station. The Cosmo City sector makes up roughly 40 square kilometres of the policing precinct with Brigadier Maharaj noting how that sector is responsible for just over 60% of the station’s reported serious crimes, such as robbery, murder and rape.

Part of MPL De Jager’s mission was to determine the human and physical resources at the station’s disposal, with Brigadier Maharaj’s team providing figures. The numbers reveal that for the four sectors, Honeydew police have five dedicated sector vehicles, three deployed exclusively to the Cosmo City area, with two vehicles for the other three sectors which stretch from Weltevreden Park to Randpark Ridge and Ruimsig.

However, Honeydew police station has a large vehicle fleet which includes tow trucks, vehicles for detectives and service vehicles. The station has a granted vehicle capacity of 219 with 124 vehicles currently on the books, 39 of those currently inactive. MPL De Jager explained the challenge with inactive vehicles is exacerbated by a national agreement police have with an insurance provider. Once a problem is reported with a vehicle, the insurer has 30 days to inspect, where after instructions are processed. MPL De Jager noted how vehicles at other stations inspected have sat unused in garages for between 250 and 300 days.

As for staff, Honeydew police station has a granted capacity of 526 positions. The station currently employs 397 staff, comprising of 123 detectives, 212 visible policing members, 14 reservists and various administrative staff. Additionally, the station lists 28 critical vacancies that need to be filled. Honeydew police’s detectives are among the busiest, with the brigadier noting how they handle roughly 40 dockets at any time, both investigative and court dockets.

Also read: RiverWel Residents Association and Honeydew police hit the streets to spread crime-awareness

Not given adequate tools to properly fix the problem

An inability to carry out basic administrative functions were acknowledged as being a major struggle. The station’s telephones have not worked for almost three years and many detectives do not have their own state phones. This forces detectives and senior officers to often share phones, creating confusion as complainants are unable to get proper feedback or will phone incorrect investigating officers.

Another area of concern is the station’s version of an Operations Room. The small cubicle has one desktop with a cellphone and radio transmitter but anyone manning the desk is unable to transfer a call across the vast number of buildings on the premises. Honeydew police station also has very limited capacity to detain suspects, having only two temporary cells that measure less than two metres by three metres each. Suspects arrested are charged at Honeydew, before being sent to neighbouring stations.

Key community asset owned by private individual

Complainants have often raised concerns about the aesthetic condition of the station, from the paintwork and signage, to the lighting and walkways. Honeydew police station is privately owned with ownership changing hands just five months ago when it was purchased by a property magnate. A lease has been signed to 2025 and the station will pay over R100 000 in monthly rent. The landlord is responsible for the maintenance, and those close to the station say he is eager to give it a facelift.

The area occupied by the Cosmo City satellite station is owned by Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) and Brigadier Maharaj cites delays with that entity being part of the reason why it has not been converted into a standalone station. The Department of Public Works, which oversees government assets, as well as JPC, have been sent question via email on July 28 but no response has been forthcoming.

Measurable improvement and community support

Despite challenges, the station has been successful at reducing the number of crimes reported. Brigadier Maharaj and his team noted how in 2016 the station was reporting in excess of 1 200 crimes per month with that number down to between the 700 and 800 mark monthly. Acknowledging the assistance received by private citizens, the brigadier highlighted the outstanding work done by the station’s community policing forum, the neighbourhood watches in all sectors, and private security companies.

“I think these visits are very needed because we base our information on complaints from residents. We need to understand what we are dealing with,” explained MPL De Jager, who commended Brigadier Maharaj on getting the best out of what he has at his disposal. The end goal is to motivate for more resources to improve response times, alleviate the pressure on overworked officers, and ultimately provide a service the public can trust.