Gauteng policing fraternity marred by ‘inefficiency,’ ‘abuse of power”, etc.
“Although steady improvement has been noted among priority stations, more still needs to be done,” department says.
The Gauteng policing fraternity was marred by complaints about poor service delivery, poor investigation, poor response times, missing dockets, lack of feedback, unprofessional conduct, abuse of power and inaction.
This was according to the provincial community safety department.
Despite efforts to bolster the SAPS’s capacity, Gauteng has received 288 complaints in the 2019/2020 financial year.
“Although steady improvement has been noted among priority stations, more still needs to be done,” it said.
Of these complaints, 107 were related to poor service delivery, 81 to poor investigations, 67 to poor communication, 26 to unprofessional conduct and seven miscellaneous complaints.
Complaints against the law-enforcement agencies are also investigated.
“During the 2020/2021 financial year, a total of 94 complaints were investigated and finalised in the northern corridor alone,” the department’s northern corridor director Vumile Zwane said.
The majority of these complaints were reportedly investigated against Akasia (seven), Mabopane (14) and Temba (nine).
“The department is closely monitoring the performance of 36 police stations within the Tshwane district quarterly,” she said.
This was said to be done by administering monitoring tools and conducting both announced and unannounced visits to the stations.
“About 13 police stations are regarded as priority police stations within the corridor. In addition, the performance of 10 Tshwane metro police department regional offices is also monitored quarterly,” Zwane said.
Monitoring was also performed on the integrated O Kae Molao festive season and Easter operations to measure their impact and successes.
“Currently, police stations are visited every month,” the department said.
The department would be introducing station visits to metropolitan sites and offices, reintroducing the performance system to 40 high crime stations.
“We will continue to monitor implementation of the integrated five-year Gauteng policing plan.”
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Members of the public were urged to use the department’s police complaints management system and report any complaints they had about policing at any of the 143 stations in the province.
Poor police service could be reported to the department on 011 689 3607 or SMS/WhatsApp to this number 071 853 1306 or by directing the complaints by email to gdcspolicecomplaints@gauteng.gov.za.
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