The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape is calling on the Provincial Police Commissioner. Lt. General Koliswa Otola to prioritise visible policing in the Kimberley area after serious shortfalls in relation to patrols have come to light.
I have received numerous complaints from residents of the New Park, Kimberley North, West End, Royldene, Roylglen, Monuments Heights and Minerva Gardens area, who are living in fear as they experience a marked increase in crime. They reported incidents of theft, housebreakings, assaults, and other criminal activities.
Residents have also expressed deep concern about the lack of visible policing in their respective areas, where spotting a police vehicle has become a rare and irregular occasion, while police response times are also often delayed.
Following engagements with a local policing stakeholders in Sol Plaatje, it has come to light that the crime prevention unit only operates between 10:00 am and 23:00 pm, leaving crime fighting organisations and the community vulnerable during the night, when many incidents occur.
The systemic failure within the South African Police Service (SAPS) is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue unchecked. It is significantly affecting the effectiveness of our local law enforcement agencies to join hands with community organisations to proactively fight crime, with the biggest challenges relating to manpower and resourcing shortages, including a lack of operational policing vehicles.
The DA has submitted our concerns to Lt. General Otola, requesting an urgent intervention. I have also been engaging directly with the sector managers of Community Policing Forums and municipal officials to ensure that these issues are addressed collectively, as a matter of priority.
We need greater accountability and urgent intervention from all relevant departments, to be able to tackle crime through a coordinated and whole-of-society approach. Strengthening community policing initiatives, improving visibility, and allocating sufficient resources to our local stations must be part of the solution.
Together, we can restore safety in Ward 20 and across the greater Kimberley community to ensure that residents enjoy safer environments where they can live without fear, and where law and order is upheld consistently.