Dire staff shortages at three local police stations
The limited number of police officers can only do so much, says DA.
All three police stations in Kempton Park battle with crippling staff shortages.
Michael Waters MP, DA deputy chief whip and Lethabong constituency head, said this was revealed in a reply to a Parliamentary question he asked.
Norkem Park Police Station is 71 per cent understaffed, Kempton Park Police Station 39 per cent and Sebenza Police Station 35 per cent.
“The minister stated in his reply that “to effectively fight crime, the United Nations (UN) Office on Drugs and Crime prescribe a minimum police strength of one police officer to 220 people.
“In other words, to meet the ratio of one police officer per 220 residents, Norkem Park would need an increase in police officers of 248 per cent (71 vacancies), Kempton Park a 63 per cent increase (39 vacancies) and Sebenza a 54 per cent increase (35 vacancies),” Waters said in a statement.
Norkem Park Police Station has one officer for every 766 residents, the Kempton Park police ratio is 358 and Sebenza is 338.
“This dire situation simply cannot be allowed to continue. It is little wonder that crime is spiralling out of control. We don’t have adequate sector policing and the conviction rate is dismal. Government’s responsibility is to ensure that we are safe in our homes.
“The limited number of police officers can only do so much. What is needed is a commitment from government to not only staff the police appropriately but to train them to ensure a professional police service,” he added.
