Police resources and work space at Delft Police Station are under scrutiny following a visit by DA police shadow minister Zakhele Mbhele Monday.
The visit was prompted by the release of the annual crime statistics which shows that Delft was placed in the top 10 most problematic stations in the country for various categories.
According to the stats, Delft recorded the fifth highest murder rate with 195 deaths for the period between April 2017 and March 2018.
PROBLEMATIC: The DA’s Zakhele Mbhele in Delft. Video: Monique Duval
The station also recorded the fifth highest number of attempted murders with 192 cases, was ranked number six for carjackings and sexual offences, and has the seventh highest amount of rapes with 196 cases.
During the visit it was revealed that each detective at the station has more than 300 cases while the station has more than 10 000 open cases.
It was also revealed that while the holding cells can only accommodate 32 people there are often more than 100 people there over a weekend.
“The issues of understaffing came up where you find the staffing does not accommodate the growing population with new housing developments.
“The social fabric issues that are at the roots of murders, assaults were discussed with Blikkiesdorp being highlighted as one of the hotspot areas,” Mbhele said.
monique.duval@inl.co.za