Western Cape police stations have been bolstered with 251 new vehicles, while SAPS have also embraced technology by launching an app to rate and improve their service.
On Thursday, Police Minister Bheki Cele was in Mitchells Plain to officially hand over the new bakkies, which will be distributed to various precincts in the province.
The lines of new vans shone in the parking lot of Promenade Mall while cops could not stop smiling at their early Christmas gift, valued at R140 million.
Cele said this amount was covered by last year’s financial budget and promised that more cars would come as part of this year’s quota.
But he warned cops not to keep them baas of the cars, as they were there to serve the public.
“I want to say to the management of this mall, this is the last time I want to see so many police vans parked here,” Cele said.
“These cars are not for you as SAPS to come do your grocery shopping.
“It’s not for you to drive your girlfriend around, it’s not to drop your mother-in-law at the shops and it’s not for you to stop at the shebeen with.”
Cele said the aim was to get 70% of the vehicles on the road patrolling and assisting mense, and the remaining 30% would be on standby for call-outs.
Western Cape police commissioner lieutenant-general Thembisile Patekile said the modern bakkies are also designed to drive through different terrains, so there will be nowhere for skelms to hide.
“There are different types of calibres, including off-road and places where we first couldn’t drive.
“They will also be maintained through the help of TVET colleges who partnered with SAPS, by giving us artisans like mechanics and electricians.”
Patekile said the vehicles would be rolled out in areas which are “depleted”.
Reagen Allen, MEC for Community Safety and Policing Oversight, said the ‘gift’ was also a step in building bridges between communities, safety structures and SAPS.
Patekile announced the launch of the SAPS ‘Rate Our Service’ app.
This new tool will enable people visiting community service centres to use a quick response (QR) code to access the survey on-line and rate their experience.
“To fill out the form will only take one and a half minutes. body.copy.three...: “On it, you can rate the waiting time, condition of the station, professionalism, how helpful the officer was, your confidence in SAPS and whether you were satisfied with the service.
“There will also be space for suggestions,” said Patekile.
Western Cape CPF chairperson Fransina Lukas said they are hoping the new vans will help quicken the police’s response time.
Sector 5 Neighbourhood Watch chairperson and community activist Zoraya du Plessis feels that more could’ve been done with a budget of R140 million.
"We ask for police visibility at crime hot spots then you just see blue lights for a few minutes, then it’s gone.
“Why not invest that money into mobile stations at hotspots where call-outs so often happen?
“As the neighbourhood watch, we have to stand for long periods waiting on SAPS, so only time will tell if this is really gonna work”