Lack of police cars poses danger for communities – expert

The ongoing and worsening backlog in police motor vehicle repairs not only affects their visibility in communities but could also possibly prevent them from responding to life-threatening incidents.

Police face a backlog in the repairs of motor vehicles, which has seen more than half of the Pretoria flying squad vehicles being grounded, some for over three months.

Institute for Security Studies crime analyst and senior researcher Dr Johan Burger said the problem was not new.

“This problem is not a new one; it has been around for years. Members of the public have complained several times over lack of availability of vehicles when they report crimes,” he said.

Burger said while the issue has been long-standing, it showed police management was failing at solving the matter, possibly hindering police efforts in fighting crime.

He said it was worrisome that more than half of the flying squad’s vehicles were out of action.

“There has not been any research on the impact, but it must have an impact on their ability to respond if only half of their vehicle fleet is operational. Keeping in mind that the country’s crime levels have been increasing yearly for the past 10 years, especially in terms of murder and aggravated robbery, this is a serious concern,” he said.

“The flying squad forms part of their emergency services. If a person calls in the station in the middle of a robbery and hears that there are no cars, that just damages your confidence. Even worse, a person can be seriously harmed or even killed by intruders.”

Burger said the delays in fixing vehicles made officers drag their feet when they needed to send vehicles to be serviced because it took so long.

“Most of the repairs are outsourced. The turn-around times are just unacceptable. They leave the officers struggling, and the detectives suffer even more. This is something that is becoming a critical problem and needs urgent attention.”

Aside from the overall 124 flying squad vehicles in Gauteng currently out of service, more vehicles from other units have also been affected.

In April, Minister of Police Bheki Cele revealed that 2 170 vehicles in the province were out-of-service. This is an increase of 763 vehicles compared to last year November, with 261 of them in Tshwane. Then the most contributing factor was attributed to the unavailability of vehicle parts as most dealerships operated on minimal staff during the lockdown.

Although police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele could not say when the vehicles would be repaired, he said the department was working hard to get the cars back on the beat again.

“Police need cars out of the garage to continue fighting crime,” Makhubele said.

The Gauteng Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko said most of the damaged vehicles in the province were being repaired at private facilities.

“Although it hurts police visibility, crime hotspot areas and highways are prioritised to ensure high visibility in these areas. In addition, deployment is conducted with metropolitan police departments to enhance police visibility,” she said.

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