Cape Town’s police-to-population ratio way below national norm
The police-to-population ratio for the Cape Town metropolitan area is significantly below the national average‚ said the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Mireille Wenger. Wenger‚ the DA's Western Cape spokesperson on community safety‚ said three quarters of police stations in the city have less police officers per number of residents than the norm - one officer for every 358 people (in 2014/15) - across South Africa."Seventy-five percent of Cape Town’s police stations have less numbers of officers serving their communities than the national average‚ with an average ratio for Cape Town of one police officer for every 439 people‚ and 21 police stations in Cape Town have less than one officer for every 500 residents of that precinct‚" said Wenger.‘We will take this city‚’ EFF members vow ahead of Malema's visit to EkurhuleniWenger said it is concerning that many of the stations with the worst police-to-population ratios are in severely crime-affected communities which need police resources the most.According to Wenger‚ areas with some of the worst ratios include: - Harare 826:1- Nyanga 754:1- Delft 706:1- Lwandle 703:1- Kraaifontein 702:1- Grassy Park 643:1- Gugulethu 643:1- Strandfontein 635:1- Table View 603:1- Mfuleni 598:1- Kleinvlei 593:1- Belhar 581:1- Durbanville 569:1- Khayelitsha 569:1- Ocean View 553- Manenberg 541:1- Lansdowne 540:1- Dieprivier 532:1- Steenberg 519:1- Hout Bay 506:1- Muizenberg 502:1Wenger said these numbers paint a concerning picture of the under-resourcing of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Cape Town."This makes it very difficult for police officers to deal with the serious crime challenges we are facing‚ especially gang violence. While under-resourcing has a negative impact on crime and on the safety of citizens in general‚" said Wenger.Wenger noted that the SAPS falls under national government‚ and provinces have no control over policing.“The Western Cape Parliament has taken this matter up repeatedly with the national commissioner and will continue to take steps to ensure that our police stations are properly resourced‚" said Wenger. - TMG Digital..
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