LETTER: Out of service telephone lines put residents at risk

Farouk Araie of Benoni writes:

In a recent edition of City Times, it stated that telephone lines linked to The Benoni Police Station have been out of service since May.

This is unacceptable and the situation should be escalated to a much higher level.
It is indeed tragic that a problem of this magnitude is left to other parties to resolve.

Timely communication with law enforcement institutions in a crime-infested country like ours is a matter of life and death.

Police stations and police officers are our first line of defence in protecting our society from the effects of crime.

Surely this is a matter of utmost importance that should have been taken up at the ministerial level.

The minister of police is responsible for determining national policing policy (Section 206 of the Constitution of The Republic of South Africa of 1969) and the overall execution of the department’s mandate.

The absence of communication with the SAPS could become a factor in the increase in violent and petty crime.

The rate of crime in Benoni is 96.01 per 1000 residents during 2021.

Here you have a one in 10 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime.

Crime statistics reveal that crime continues to be a problem that contributes to the plight of all South Africans. We must not allow our country to devolve into a lawless society.

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