Probe slams CT metro cops

2006-09-19 13:22

Cape Town - A committee of inquiry has called for urgent action to remedy "poor service delivery, low morale and a lack of discipline" among metro police in Cape Town's Helderberg area.

The probe, set up by the city administration and headed by former magistrate Ian Yuill, followed a series of widely publicised allegations against the unit, among them that meat was being sold to the public from its offices and that members of the unit forced a woman off the road after she confronted them about not being available when needed.

It was also claimed that members were using official vehicles to moonlight as security guards.

Requirements not being met

In a report released on Tuesday, the committee said it found no evidence to support these claims.

However it said that judging from the "general trend" of the complaints and comments received, it was clear that the requirements of the public were not being met.

When people tried to phone in complaints, calls went unanswered, or they were told that no staff or vehicles were available.

"This often results in no response to complaints, which frustrates the public enormously," the report said.

Did a reasonable job

"It must however be added, that members of the public indicated that on the rare occasion that the metro police responded, they did a reasonable job."

It found that a shortage of staff and vehicles, a lack of control over members, and deployment of members to areas outside Helderberg meant there was ineffective patrolling in the area, which included Gordon's Bay, Strand, Macassar and Somerset West.

The logbook of one official vehicle showed that more than half of the kilometres travelled in February this year were unaccounted for, while between March 1 and April 16, a total of 104 746km were unaccounted for.

Sick leave, shortages, morale

There was no proper control over sick leave and days off, the report said.

"Members regularly book off sick either immediately before their rest or time off days, or immediately thereafter," it said.

Staff shortages meant that if one constable was absent due to leave or other reasons during the night shift, no vehicle patrols could take place.

"The low morale and lack of discipline that exists among members of metro police in Helderberg can be [attributed] to the poor working environment as a whole," the report said.

"This affects service delivery."

- SAPA