Western Cape police commissioner says sick leave report incorrect

Western Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Arno Lamoer says reported absenteeism levels at the Maitland, Cape Town, police station are incorrect, according to a report.

The Cape Times newspaper quoted him as saying that staff took an average of 7.9 days' sick leave in the last year, and not 77.2 days as reported to Parliament's police oversight committee.

Lamoer said the figures were "incorrect", as the 77.2 days figure included provincial units in the Maitland area, such as dog and radio units with their own staff complements. The Maitland radio unit alone had more than 400 staff.

"[The 77.2 days per staff member] would mean that there was no one at the police station, which is not correct," he told the newspaper, adding that the station had never been closed.

He said it was "a lot of nonsense" that police stations in Bishop Lavis and Fish Hoek closed for lunch. He said officers were available throughout the day, especially when administrative staff went on lunch.