Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans from the DA Councillor, Glenville Fransman.
Following a report released by the National Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, late last month, identifying Ikageng as the top 20th jurisdiction for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases in the country, the Democratic Alliance (DA) sent a delegation to engage in an oversight inspection at the station to see for ourselves. See photo here.
Minister Cele’s report indicated that during the 2019/20 year, 198 sexual offence cases were reported at the Ikageng SAPS, an increase of 27% (42 cases) from the previous year, and 178 of these were rape cases.
The DA delegation included myself, Cllr Bea Campbell-Cloete, on behalf of the Democratic Alliance Women’s Network (DAWN, and the spokesperson for Social Development, Gavin Edwards MPL.
Our engagement with the police officers at the Ikageng SAPS were constructive, and following the discussions, the DA will escalate our efforts to make additional resources available to support the Ikageng Police Station in its fight against crime and to serve and to protect the communities of Ikageng and Promosa more effectively.
In addition to the rising number of GBV cases, the communities of Ikageng and Promosa also fall victim to contact crimes such as murder, attempted murder, sexual offences, common assault and robbery.
On the matter of GBV violence, we were informed by the police that preventing and identifying cases face enormous difficulties since policing cannot take place in the privacy of people’s homes.
The SAPS indicated that they consider GBV a priority, but that to effectively address GBV, a multi-disciplinary approach is needed.
We were made aware that SAPS efforts in fighting GBV are hampered by a lack of support from other spheres of government, specifically at the local government level, within the JB Marks Local Municipality. The demarcation and establishment of roads within the fast-growing informal areas within Ikageng and Promosa make it difficult to access areas where police assistance is required while the poor street lighting infrastructure creates an environment where criminals can execute their crimes under the cover of darkness.
The municipality’s failure to formalise roads, stands and addresses also have a negative impact on cases brought to the Magistrates Court since the court cannot accept a GPS pin in place of an address. This sometimes leads to cases thrown out.
In addition to the support required from local government, support from the provincial government, specifically Social Development, should also improve. Currently, there is a good working relationship between the SAPS Ikageng and the Thuthuzela Rape Centre to assist victims of GBV, but there is a shortage of social workers.
The DA delegation was encouraged by the working relationship between the Ikageng SAPS and the local Community Policing Forum (CPF), who joined us in our engagements. We were assured that as part of the Ikageng SAPS strategy to fight GBV, a coordinated outreach programme inclusive of all stakeholders will be implemented shortly.
From our visit it is clear that Ikageng SAPS leadership are committed to preventing crime and when crime does happen, to investigate cases effectively. However, the station does struggle with inadequate resources. Currently, the station occupies a temporary site. We were informed that land has already been identified for the construction of a more functional and permanent police station. This will go a long way to improve the working conditions of police officers as well as offer a safe space for victims of crime.
The funding and resource allocation to the Ikageng SAPS needs to be looked at to ensure that it is in line with the population it serves. Rapid urbanisation has seen an influx of residents to the area and it is important that any resource allocation considers population growth.
In order for the SAPS to effectively prevent and fight crime, it would need more vehicles to improve on visible policing in the area, as well as additional police officers and detectives. The JB Marks municipality should also prioritise the establishment of roads and the demarcation of stands, as well as assigning addresses so that the police can better serve the community.
The DA will take a multi-pronged approach to support the Ikageng SAPS.
We will write to the MEC for Community Safety and the SAPS Provincial Commissioner to urgently consider allocating additional resources to Ikageng Police Station. In addition, the DA will engage the MEC for Social Development to allocate an adequate number of social workers. Within the JB Marks municipality, the DA Caucus will continue to fight for the formalisation of areas in Ikageng and Promosa and to ensure the building of roads, the demarcation of stands, the establishment of street lighting and the provision of water, electricity and sanitation services.