Brixton police allegedly took seven hours to respond to a weekend home invasion in Melville, Johannesburg, raising concerns about whether the station has enough resources to fight crime.
The station has one of the highest rates of common robbery in the country, sitting at number 14, according to police crime statistics for the second quarter of 2024.
Two suspects allegedly entered the home, threatened the occupants and fled with three cellphones, a laptop and jewellery, according to a private security company.
The victims called the police in the early hours of Sunday for help and to take fingerprints. They told TimesLIVE Premium they were shocked to discover only one police van was available.
A family member staying a few blocks away relied on a private security company to assist the victims.
Private security company Beagle Watch quickly responded to the incident.
Jonathan Thompson, chairperson of Sector 2 Community Police Forum (CPF) in Melville, said delays in responding to crime were a reality for residents.
“I went to the police station on Monday morning. I looked at them and said, ‘guys, this is unacceptable, how come there is a security company waiting for hours and losing resources they could allocate to other incidents of their clients because they must now wait five, six to seven hours.’
“I was also told they only have one van. I was told that they went to the garage to follow up on what is happening with the other police vans.”
Thompson said two years ago, the station was allocated about 30 new recruits who he expected to be boots on the ground, but they were absorbed in administration positions “because those were the critical positions that needed assistance.
“Unfortunately yes I am aware, they only have one van, but it still does not excuse them from taking four, five to six hours — it is not the first time that this happened,” he said.
He said police arrived at the scene of the home invasion after shift change in the morning.
Thompson said police had attended to another incident on the same night just before 12.30am. “They were attending to that complaint. I know once detectives arrived on the scene of that incident the van can go to other complaints. Why did it take them seven hours for them to come,” he asked.
Beagle Watch MD Andre Aiton, one of the security service providers in the area, said it was difficult to get police support often due to a lack of resources, vehicles or manpower.
“We need to understand that when a crime is committed we deal with the scene to the best of our knowledge, because it is our customers and we try to support them, but when SAPS arrives we pretty much move out of the way. They take over the scene,” he said.
Thompson said business owners in Melville needed more proactive policing such as stop and search operations.
He said the alleged theft of Polo GTI headlights in the area had escalated. “Just this weekend I think there were two or three cars that had headlights stolen.”
Cellphone snatching, which was quiet in December as most students and patrons were away, had resurfaced. He said residents relied heavily on private security companies with limited policing powers.
“They are contracted to a said person and that person's property. Though they do try, they also need to be careful how and what they do because they could get into trouble with the Psira [Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority],” he said.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo denied the station was under-resourced.
“The victim must report the matter to the station commander so that it can be investigated. The police station has adequate and sufficient police officers and vehicles to serve the community of Brixton and surrounds,” he said.
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