Winde aids police with their duties

MEC FOR Community Safety Alan Winde has launched a week-long pilot project which has him and volunteers serve as Commissioners of Oaths, certifying documents from a safety kiosk opposite the Cape Town Central police station.

The initiative came about as a result of Winde’s push to get more police officers doing active patrolling duty.

“In the Western Cape, we are 4 500 police officers short. I have written to National Police Minister Bheki Cele numerous times to ask for more police.

“Our solution is to relieve police officers from their desks, so that they can get back onto our streets.

“If our provincial government staff can do police’s desk work for them, they can go out and focus on catching criminals,” said Winde.

He certified documents from the kiosk and was assisted by graduate interns from the Chrysalis Academy, who are on a year-long work placement programme in the Department of Community Safety.

“I had hoped that Minister Cele would agree to let us use a desk inside the station, but that request also fell on deaf ears. We have come up with another plan, which works as well, and gets the job done,” Winde said.

He added that another benefit of the initiative is that it saves residents from standing in long queues: “I hate it when people are forced to take time away from work… to stand in a long queues.”

If the pilot is a success, the programme will be rolled out across the province in the near future.

At the end of the week, Winde and the station commander will meet to discuss the way forward.