Blue line just too thin

Sprawling Khayelitsha has the highest rate of murder and sexual offences in South Africa but police in the Cape Town township are so incompetent that they do not even answer phones.

These damning findings are contained in a 580-page report released yesterday by the commission that probed allegations of inefficient policing and a breakdown in relations between police and the community.

Over the past two years the commission, headed by retired judge Kate O'Regan and former head of prosecutions advocate Vusi Pikoli, heard evidence from 87 witnesses and 170 complaints from residents and organisations.

Western Cape premier Helen Zille established the commission in August 2012 following complaints by the NGO Social Justice Coalition at the height of vigilante killings in Khayelitsha. The report was formally handed to Zille yesterday. After studying the findings she will give it to Police Minister Nathi Nhleko and National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega.

Zille said: "I believe that a lot of what is proposed could result in much wider benefits over and above increasing safety in Khayelitsha. For example, the commission has recommended that the SAPS develop provincial guidelines in relation to visible policing in informal neighbourhoods. This would result in improved patrols in a number of areas in the province."

The commission's key findings include that:

• Police do not appear to conduct regular patrols of informal neighbourhoods despite the large number of residents living there;
• Police do not answer telephones reliably at the three Khayelitsha police stations;
• Evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the quality of detective work in Khayelitsha is poor, with many cases not investigated properly or at all;
• Detectives fail to take dockets to court, which results in charges being withdrawn or cases being struck off the roll;
• Policing does not appear to be intelligence-based even though each police station has a crime intelligence officer; and
• The Khayelitsha family offences, sexual violence and child protection unit is "clearly dysfunctional" and the police stations are "substantially understaffed".

Western Cape police commissioner General Arno Lamoer issued a statement, saying: "My management accepts and welcomes any intervention . We really look forward to the outcome of this commission so that we can see and evaluate how we can better the service to the various communities that we serve ."