71% of WC police officers have fewer SAPS officers over 5-year period

The South African Police Service revealed that over the past five financial years, there are 804 fewer police officers in the Western Cape.

These findings was made at the Western Cape’s Provincial Parliament, when asked by the DA. This is approximately a 71% decrease of the Western Cape's 151 police stations in the number of officers allocated to them.

‘’These numbers once again highlight the under-resourcing we face in the Western Cape in terms of the allocations towards our crime-fighting efforts,’’ said by Ricardo Mackenzie, DA Western Cape Acting Spokesperson on Community Safety.

In terms of police stations, the findings revealed that:

·        Cape Town Central, where deployment allocations fell from 525 to 425, experienced an increase of 30.8% in contact crimes;

·        Belhar, where deployment allocations fell from 103 to 94, experienced an increase of 162.5% in attempted murders;

·        Oudtshoorn, where deployment allocations fell from 310 to 286, experienced an increase of 146.2% in attempted murders;

·        Lingelethu West, where deployment allocations fell from 40 to 34, experienced an increase of 78.9% in robberies at residential premises.

 

‘’In addition to these trends, the disparities in police-to-population ratios further paint a disturbing picture. For example, Wynberg has a 1:201 police-to-population ratio whilst Gugulethu has a ratio of 1:773. Even though these ratios exclude specialised units, it still shows how inefficient national SAPS is in determining allocations of officers and resources to communities who need it the most,’’ added McKenzie.

 

The full report can be found at: https://www.wcpp.gov.za/node/11830

 

Done By: Mitchum George