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Victims of crime in the Jan Kempdorp policing precinct remain at the mercy of criminals while the local South African Police Service (SAPS) fails to repair its fleet.

An oversight inspection to the police station revealed that the only patrol vehicle at the disposal of the police is a sedan with broken brakes. The other seventeen vehicles are awaiting repairs at the state garage. Fourteen of them have been out of order for over three months. Of the six vehicles allocated to the detective unit, only three are operational.

While two vehicles were returned from the workshop a month ago, one broke down on its way back to the station while the other broke down while attending to its first criminal case, following repairs.

All the vehicles have odometer readings of between 300 000 and 400 000 kilometers. They are old, unreliable and long overdue for replacement. They are also leaving residents vulnerable to crime.

The Community Policing Forum indicated that theft and violent crime has increased by 300%, with the Valspan and Masakeng areas being hardest hit. This is largely due to the unavailability of visible policing vehicles to do patrols, attend to crime scenes and to catch criminals.

This is not the first time that the DA has shone the spotlight on Jan Kempdorp’s broken police fleet or called for an intervention at a local and a provincial level. Yet, the situation continues to worsen. This is despite a total of 23 new police vehicles handed over to station commanders from across the Northern Cape by the provincial commissioner in December last year, and further promises of more to come.

Jan Kempdorp residents remain sitting ducks for criminals who murder, rob and rape knowing that the under-resourced police will not catch them.

The DA in the Northern Cape continues to call upon President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire Police Minister Bheki Cele. Until SAPS is adequately equipped to fight crime, SAPS cannot pull the brakes on crime.

Issued by Annette van Wyk, Cllr - Phokwane Municipality