Last week, policing in Kamieskroon came to a complete halt when the local station’s last operational police vehicle was suddenly taken for repairs.
Seven police bakkies are meant to be of service to the Kamieskroon police to respond to emergencies, conduct patrols and catch criminals and due to the current situation, arrests cannot be made because the only operating detective car does not comply with the required regulations for the transportation of suspects. The use of private cars for official business is also restricted.
The neighbourhood is left vulnerable due to the massive size of the affected area. If you add the distances to all of the nine towns serviced by Kamieskroon police, the service area covers 700 km in total. These include the distances to Spoegrivier, Kharkams, Tweerivier, Kamassies, Rooifontein, Nourivier, Leliefontein and Vaalputs, which alone is 223 km away.
Residents living and around these towns increasingly fall victim to housebreaking, stock theft, poaching of rare plants, plundering of cell phone towers and cable theft.
While the Garies police station has come to the aide of Kamieskroon police station, by making one of its own police vehicles available, the situation remains inadequate.
Given that poor road conditions play a large part in damaging police vehicles, I am in discussion with Roads and Public Works to improve the condition of the gravel roads through increased blading and the erection of more road signs to warn of dangerous bends.
The situation also warrants the urgent attention of the MEC of Safety and the Provincial Police Commissioner, which the DA will take up in the legislature. In addition to the need for more police vehicles, the turnaround time for vehicle repairs must be addressed.
Citizens of Kamieskroon and its surrounds deserve to feel secure and the South African Police Service (SAPS) as well as local and provincial government, must work together to ensure their safety.