Police reluctant to investigate vandalism, says metro security director

Nelson Mandela Bay has been frustrated by police officers who are allegedly reluctant to open criminal cases when city officials complain of vandalism to property.

In some cases, city bosses had to go over their heads and directly to station commanders just to have cases opened, security director Shadrack Sibiya told mayor Nqaba Bhanga and his committee yesterday.

Sibiya said that since January, municipal security had made about 30 arrests, with the number going down every month.

“The frustrations officials have encountered is that in some police stations police members refused to open certain cases, citing various reasons which to us didn’t make sense.

“We went as far as escalating those cases to station commanders and some of those were opened,” Sibiya said.

He did not identify the police stations where they had experienced problems.

An anti-vandalism intervention strategy status report presented to councillors earlier this year found that theft and vandalism of public facilities had cost the metro at least R22m since May 25 last year.

In Kariega, the Allanridge Library has been left in a state of disrepair.

Despite the gates being welded shut, criminals broke through burglar bars in February to gain access and looted and damaged the building.

Walmer Primary School had hundreds of metres of its perimeter fencing stolen after the school closed for the holidays in December.

In Motherwell, vandals stripped the NU30 Community Hall over the past three months.

Sibiya said criminals initially broke into the facilities over weekends, but this had changed.

“Now, they break in during the day and generally any time they see a gap,” Sibiya said.

Asked if the issue of officers allegedly refusing to open vandalism cases had been brought to the attention of the SA Police Service, police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said it had not.

“This has never been brought to the attention of station commanders or senior management.

“The officials must indicate which police station they went to and who they spoke to,” she said.

Sibiya said in an interview later that there had been no formal compliant lodged but safety and security political head John Best would request a meeting with Mount Road cluster commander Brigadier Thandiswa Kupiso.

“This did not only happen in one police station,” Sibiya said.

“Just today, our officials were sent from pillar to post trying to open a case against individuals.

“They were sent from the Motherwell police station to the Swartkops station.

“A month ago, in Algoa Park, they also refused to open a case,” Sibiya said.

During the meeting, Bay deputy mayor Thsonono Buyeye said he was concerned about the extent of the vandalism.

“Let’s not think we’re winning this.

“The criminals seem to be ahead of us at all times,” Buyeye said.

Earlier in the meeting, Bhanga told the councillors that United Front councillor Mkhuseli Mtsila had been fired as human settlements political boss.

Bhanga is now the acting human settlements portfolio committee chair.

“I want to announce that I have terminated councillor Mtsila as human settlements MMC.

“I will now be acting in the position,” Bhanga said.

“I am a human settlements practitioner myself.

“We need to return the human settlements department back to its glory days and build 10,000 houses.”

Mtsila’s axing comes after the DA, COPE, UDM, ACDP and AIC wrote to their national bosses, effectively asking for permission to boot the UF out of the coalition government.

With the removal of the UF, the DA, COPE, UDM, ACDP and AIC still have a combined 62 seats.