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The South African Police Service has revealed in a written reply that Khayelitsha Police Station is operating with 20% of its positions not being filled. Following the mass murders of six people in the community on Sunday, it is deeply concerning that SAPS management has not ensured that the area is properly capacitated to keep the residents safe.

Whilst we welcome the use of the Anti-Gang and Crime Intelligence units as preventative measures to combat the crime, we will be submitting parliamentary questions to ascertain the current state of these respective bodies.

It was stated that the average work load of detectives deployed to the station is 106 case dockets on hand. In a country where many residents find themselves fearing for the safety of themselves and their loved ones, it is beyond unacceptable that SAPS expects crime to be solved when our detectives are overwhelmed with work.

However, in the Western Cape, we know that this is not the only way in the National Government is ambivalent towards the state of SAPS. Earlier this year, the provincial Department briefed the Standing Committee about its latest findings in the Policing Needs and Priorities (PNP) Report. Of the 2 785 detectives at police stations:

• 45.8% were not trained in the Basic Detective Learning Programme (BDLP);
• 71% of detectives do not have any informers;
• 91.7% of detectives have not completed the Specialised Detective Learning Programme; and
• 57% of all detective commanders in the Western Cape have not finished the required training.

MPP Ricardo Mackenzie says: "It is for this exact reason why, for example, the provincial Department of Community Safety is expanding its oversight role to ensure that SAPS carries out its mandate. As time progresses, we are given more and more reasons as to why policing needs to be devolved to capable, subnational governments.

We call on SAPS in our province to expedite and further all efforts to properly capacitate our men and women in blue so that they can complete their jobs effectively."

Issued by DA Western Cape Acting Spokesperson on Community Safety Ricardo Mackenzie