A mobile police station will be up and running in Vrygrond from Saturday 1 July, provincial police confirmed at a Muizenberg Community Imbizo held at Capricorn Primary School on Thursday 15 June.
The gathering was called to address community concerns around policing however, the hall was filled with empty seats as it was scheduled on short notice.
Heide Goodman, treasurer of the Muizenberg Community Policing Forum (CPF), said a mobile police station was essential.
“What we have highlighted is that a mobile station for Vrygrond is essential and it needs to be a 24-hour station. It cannot work from 08:00 to 17:00,” she said, adding that they were promised it would be up and running on Saturday 1 July.
Another major concern she highlighted, was the conditions in which Muizenberg police were forced to work in.
“The station is falling apart. It is wet in winter, and the holding cells where awaiting prisoners are kept are underwater.
“The staff toilets, the public toilets are flooded and there are no switchboards that we can guarantee are working.”
Goodman further explained that police have to use a cellphone donated by a resident to receive calls.
“The switchboard maybe works 10 percent of the time. There’s a cellphone that a community member donated to the station and often it doesn’t work, and we advise the community to use 10111.”
Mymoena Scholtz, founder of the Where Rainbows Meet Foundation, said a mobile police station was vital due to the “out of control” crime.
“I am very sad to hear of the conditions in which police work and I feel that should be a priority. I also feel it is very important that the satellite police station be happening now in Vrygrond because of the crime that is out of control.
“As an organisation we work closely with Muizenberg Saps (South African Police Service) but if that is the conditions, they are working under then we can understand why there are so few responses from Muizenberg’s side. I feel that the conditions must be looked into as a matter of priority.”
Scholtz added that the community has been failed.
“I really feel that we are being failed and I mean from the provincial structure side.
“I ask that Muizenberg police play a more active role to protect people that are going to work because that is the time that women are attacked and robbed. I know one of our members that is badly traumatized, she is in a mental institution, and she has been taken out of the area because of her safety.”
Deputy provincial commissioner of visible policing, Maj Gen Mpumelelo Manci said it was their priority to make the community feel safe.
“I personally had a meeting with the station commander on Monday (12 June) and the vispol head and they said there must be an imbizo before the end of the week.
“We are busy with police operations today, tonight and tomorrow. There is a high priority from us as police to make the communities feel safe.
“There are 120 police stations and all of them are waiting for us to come to them. We depend on the station commissioners and CPF.”
Manci added that when it came to police resources, there would never be enough.
“When the leadership talks about resources, we know the resources will never be enough without the force multipliers which are your neighourhood watches, Metro Police, law enforcement and so forth.”
Manci added that the anti-gang unit (AGU) would be called in to clear the area of gangsterism. “We will clean up this area of gangsterism so the AGU will get here until further notice. That is our commitment.
“Thirdly, in the training of neighbourhood watches, we will engage with community safety, and they will be trained, equipped and deployed.
“The issue of the service point (mobile police station) we can confirm that before 1 July it will be in operation, it will be here, and it will be functional.
“Law enforcement and metro police are here to make sure effective policing is taking place.
City of Cape Town District East Metropole District Commissioner, Maj Gen Vincent Beaton said a safety plan will be developed but “more hands-on deck” was needed.
“We must develop a safety plan for this area, I don’t know why there is no neighourhood watches and street committees, all over the city we have those, so we need to find out why that is happening, and we need to mobilise because we need more hands-on deck.
“We gave the commitment that the mobile police station will be in place. I think it is about the whole society approach and that everyone should get on board. We will identify the concerns of the community, whether it is gangsterism or truancy, whatever it is substance abuse in this area, all those issues will be identified with the community and then we will develop a safety plan, with all the government departments.”
In closing, he added: that they have heard the “cries in the community” and are committed to improving policing.
“We have heard the cries in the community. Let us assist the station and the station management.”
