Police resource allocation in the province has significantly decreased over the past ten years, according to MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety Reagen Allen.
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This was revealed during a briefing on the status of the department’s 2022–2023 policing needs and priorities (PNP) report, which assesses the state of policing in the Western Cape, by Allen and senior department officials to the Community Safety Standing Committee.
According to the department, while the Western Cape had 22 011 SAPS employees in 2011–2012, that number dropped to 18 867 in 2021–2022, far below what was required to effectively police the region.
Speaking to IOL after the briefing, committee member Ayanda Bans (ANC) said the ANC caucus in the legislature reiterates our calls to SAPS leadership to expedite the process of addressing the skewed allocation of resources so that priority stations are adequately staffed and resourced.
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According to Bans, the PNP report highlighted the need to increase legitimacy and trust between the public and law enforcement but this could not occur while the province ‘stifled and undermined already under-resourced community policing forums (CPFs)’.
The presentation was a precursor to the actual PNP report, which needs to be filed with the Office of the Speaker, according to committee chairperson Gillion Bosman.
‘Once that report is tabled, we will then set the wheels in motion for the bigger part of this process to unfold.’
Ferlon Christians (ACDP), a committee member, expressed concern over complaints he had heard from numerous people who had gone to a police station to file a complaint only to discover that the police officer on duty did not speak their language.
Allen claimed that while the communication issue was delicate and challenging, it did not prevent someone from working as a police officer.
In order to reduce communication barriers and foster trust between the public and the police, the PNP report recommended that SAPS members be fluent in the primary languages of the precinct to which they are assigned.
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Picture: David von Diemar / Unsplash