Police Minister, General Bheki Cele has again made a call to the South African Police Service to continue to fast track the accessibility to a police officer or policing services for all South Africans and those who live within our boarders.
This as the Police Minister and the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service together with the Mpumalanga MEC for Community Safety security and Liaison, Vusi Shongwe, on Monday 18 October 2021, opened a state of the art police station in Daggakraal in Mpumalanga.
The rural community of Daggakraal is grappling with high incidents of stock theft, house breaking and varied cases of assault and sexual violence. Residents of this area had been reliant on a satellite station to access police services.
As part of efforts by the South African Police Service to bring services and resources closer to the people, the newly unveiled police station boasts amongst other things, a community service centre, holding cells and victim friendly rooms (VFR) to accommodate victims and survivors of Gender Based Violence. 51 Operational and non-operational officers will report to work at this station to better service the 35 thousand strong Daggakraal community.
The occasion of the official opening of the Daggakraal police station also saw the Police Ministry and the SAPS top management conduct a community engagement session, to better understand and respond to the needs of people living in and around the area.
In his response to some concerns raised; including the long distances residents have to travel to report a crime as well as the slow response time of law enforcement, Minister Cele told the residents gathered, that the SAPS is continuing its service delivery programme that’s informed by population growth and spatial development.
“The access to a responsive police service should not be a privilege but a right that we as government are working each day to achieve, the strategic deployment of resources must mean that residents of any community don’t have to walk kilometres on end or rely on an expensive taxi or bus ride to access policing services. People should not have to choose between putting food on the table and going to report a crime.” – Cele concluded.
The Daggakraal police station joins the list of 1 159 police stations that are servicing communities across the country.
Source: South African Police Service