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Today, the DA met with Acting Minister of Police Prof Firoz Cachalia and Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant General Dimpane to discuss the findings of our nationwide audit of police station reachability.

During June, July and August, the DA called 1,025 police stations across South Africa to test whether members of the public could reach their local police station when they needed assistance. In August we found that 61% of stations were unreachable, including priority stations responsible for policing some of the country’s crime hotspots.

Our findings were received in a positive and constructive spirit by SAPS leadership, who acknowledged that every unanswered call could represent a person in urgent need of police assistance.

SAPS leadership presented the DA with its short, medium and long-term plans to address the problem, making it clear that steps are being taken to improve accessibility. They also acknowledged the need to urgently address challenges with the 10111 emergency number.

SAPS has already completed a national verification process to ensure that police station contact numbers are correct. It has also undertaken to replace outdated telephone infrastructure as part of its modernisation efforts and to strengthen frontline responses to calls from the public.

The DA will continue engaging with SAPS and closely monitor the implementation of these commitments. We will continue to cooperate where progress is being made, while ensuring rigorous oversight and accountability so that South Africans can rely on SAPS to be reachable and responsive when they need the police most.

Issued by DA Spokesperson on Justice and Constitutional Development Adv. Glynnis Breytenbach