Police numbers under the magnifying glass
In an effort to combat crime in the area, the police and the community policing forum (CPF) of Thembalethu recently called on members of the public to become part of the street committee system. Currently there is one police officer for every 399 people in Thembalethu.
On enquiry from the George Herald, the minister of community safety, Alan Winde, said the primary objective of these street committees is to help create a peaceful and productive environment by encouraging community members to take a greater interest in, and responsibility for, their community.
"The success of street committees hinges on community involvement and effective communication with local government departments, including police, social welfare and infrastructure services. Street committees, if run properly, mean an increase in the number of eyes and ears on the ground," he said.
Shortage of police officers in Western Cape
According to Winde the Western Cape is historically under-resourced in terms of the ratio of police officers to population.
As previously mentioned, Thembalethu has only one police officer for nearly 400 people. In Conville, there is one police officer for every 366 residents and in George one officer for every 222 residents. Pacaltsdorp is worst off with merely one officer for 420 people.
"Nationally, there is one police officer per 369 people, while in the Western Cape we have an average ratio of one police officer to every 509 people," said Winde.
"This is a blatant bias, which has contributed to the police's incapacity to deal with crime effectively. The effect on our communities has been dire. Although several stations received additional human resources during the year, there is still a shortage of police officials at several police stations. High levels of absenteeism and heavy workloads impact negatively on service delivery."
Criteria need review
In a letter addressed directly to Minister Bheki Cele last month, the Western Cape cabinet requested the review of the tool used to determine police numbers per station.
This tool needs to place more weight on relevant factors, such as the extent and seriousness of crime in an area, the specific needs of policing informal settlement areas, informal as well as formal trading and business, and the movement of people in and around a community. "We made this request in terms of section 206 of the Constitution, which gives provinces the power to advise on the needs and priorities of policing, and expect a response to this formal request shortly," said Winde.
Nationally, there is one police officer per 369 people, while in the Western Cape we have an average ratio of one police officer to every 509 people.
Plans to increase police numbers
Winde also said the public service commission recently recommended that the Western Cape police commissioner draft a plan for presentation on the equitable allocation of resources throughout the province by January 2019.
It was suggested that this plan be submitted to the national commissioner and that critical posts be filled within six months.
It was further suggested that the national commissioner monitors and evaluates the implementation of the plan to ensure compliance and that feedback of the plan be provided to the portfolio committee biannually.
The Garden Route resource requirements will be included in this report.