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Ennerdale and Tarlton police stations are the worst hit, with more than 30% of their vehicle fleet currently unserviceable.
Image for illustrative purposes. Picture: iStock
Alarm bells are ringing over the number of Gauteng police vehicles currently in the workshop awaiting repairs.
Several stations were found to be operating with more than 20% of their fleet out of service, while tasked with policing more than 200 000 residents in their precincts.
A report compiled by the provincial government also listed the reasons for the breakdowns, as well as the size and population of each station.
Gauteng police fleet grounded, crime surges
The figures were recently signed off by Premier Panyaza Lesufi in a written response to a question posed in the provincial legislature by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The report showed that 710 out of 5 630 police vehicles were standing idle as of the end of May.
This number excludes trailers, which often accompany fleet stats and account for 12.6% of the police’s response and support fleet.
Of the over 140 stations in Gauteng, only Boipatong, Fairland, Laudium, Norwood, and Sebenza were operating with a full complement of vehicles.
Stations with the worst percentage of unserviceable vehicles were Hammanskraal at 24.1%, Olievenhoutbosch at 26%, Ratanda outside Heidelberg at 28%, Tarlton at 30%, and Ennerdale at 31%.
Ennerdale had the sixth-highest number of reported murders in Gauteng in the most recent quarterly crime stats released by police last month.
Ennerdale also placed eighth for carjackings and was in the top 30 nationally for truck hijackings and kidnapping.
Gaps for criminals
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Community Safety Crezane Bosch called on provincial authorities to repair the vehicles as a matter of urgency so that they may service their communities.
“The administration is surrendering community safety to opportunistic criminals who consistently find ways to stay ahead of inadequate policing efforts,” said Bosch, demanding a timeline for the repairs.
The DA reiterated that a grounded fleet created opportunities for criminals to strike, but the premier explained how stations deal with the lack of resources.
“Any possible negative impact is mitigated through re-prioritisation of the available fleet to the frontline services,” said Lesufi, who last week blamed the shortage on a mechanic shortage.
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The department’s compiled response detailed the divisions that were most affected by the grounded vehicles service, with crime prevention, detectives and support services most affected.
The report also detailed the vehicles’ faults, which covered a wide variety of brake, electrical, fuel and engine problems, with the majority requiring two or more serious areas of attention.
Sizeable police precincts
Stations vary widely in surface area and the population they serve.
Ivory Park, which has 20% of its fleet down, covers 28 square kilometres but has the highest estimated population at just above 389 000.
Likewise, Tembisa has an estimated policing precinct population of 354 100 in a 24 square kilometre space but has 78 vehicles, of which 72 are operational.
On the other end of the spectrum, Bronkhorstspruit police cover 1 430 square kilometres and 81 000 citizens with 47 operational vehicles.
Cullinan outside Pretoria has the second-largest surface area at 1 329 square kilometres, but has only 56,000 people residing in the policing precinct.
Alexandra police precinct has the highest population density at 237 000 people across seven square kilometres — here, 54 operational vehicles police 3 385 people per square kilometre.
