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News24 reports that SA Police Service (SAPS) officers say they are struggling to fight crime with the limited resources at their disposal and some are discouraged by the state of the service.
A Gauteng police officer indicated: “I love this job, but it’s putting too much pressure on us. We first have to fight to work and then go out there and fight the war. It’s draining.” The officer said they worked long hours, even weekends, without remuneration. Instead, they received a day off. The officer was speaking following the release of the Solidarity Research Institute's "SAPS report". To compile the report, the institute shared an electronic questionnaire with 400 officers in the SAPS detective service. The report revealed that there were serious vehicle and equipment shortages and that the officers worked in dreadful, untidy, and unhygienic conditions. Some had to take turns using computers and telephones, and at certain police stations, one printer was shared by everyone who worked there – often as many as 30 members. Respondents also reported that up to four detectives had to share a 15-year-old computer that did not even have internet access. There were even stations that didn't have essential forensic equipment such as gloves, fingerprint powder, and swabs used for DNA samples. According to the Solidarity report, staff shortages meant that some detective sections had a minimum of 120 outstanding cases per member, and some had 200 open dockets to investigate. One respondent had 500 outstanding dockets to investigate without any colleagues to assist. “The only support we get is that we are subjected to disciplinary action if we complain about workload," a respondent revealed. Almost a quarter of respondents said they were discouraged entirely, and 37% were frustrated most of the time. Only 11% of respondents said they were highly motivated to perform their daily tasks.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Iavan Pijoos at News24 (subscriber access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page