Cape Town - Western Cape Community Safety MEC Dan Plato has launched an investigation into claims that the police’s crime intelligence office hin Bishop Lavis as become a soft target for robbers.
On Thursday, the Daily Voice revealed that the office has been burgled five times this year alone, with criminals even making off with laptops containing sensitive information about investigations into syndicates.
Police sources working in the building admitted they are too afraid to park their private vehicles on the premises after the wheels were stolen off cars.
The crime intelligence office is located on the same grounds as the police college.
A shocked Plato said he would be visiting the compound to assess the situation himself.
The MEC told the Daily Voice he has been in contact with acting Western Cape police commissioner Major General Thembisile Patekile to ask for immediate intervention.
Plato said if the “alarming” claims are true, it would breach the tenuous trust police have built with communities who provide them with information which helps to prosecute criminals.
Plato said: “The office – which houses important information on investigations into organised crime, gangs and drugs – has reportedly become a hot spot for vandalism and theft, with laptops allegedly stolen from the premises.
“I regard this as serious mismanagement which the provincial SAPS heads have to account for.
“If all the allegations are true it poses a major security risk for police and a safety risk for community members who have been assisting police in their investigations.”
But ANC Western Cape spokesman Yonela Diko blames Plato for the breach.
Diko said: “Dan Plato and his minions are in way over his head over gang violence and crime in this city and he continues to put out fires across the province instead of having a strategy for prevention.”
“There is this inability to appreciate the weight of gang violence on the part of this provincial government, simply because it affects areas they care less about.”
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille refused to comment.
Her spokesman Michael Mpofu said: “For this story, Minister Plato’s statement will suffice.”
National police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo, who is based in Pretoria, said on Thursday they were still waiting for feedback from their Western Cape counterparts, and therefore could not comment yet.
Daily Voice