Johannesburg - Moroka, Jabulani, Dlamini and Molapo residents have been complaining about the declining standards of service by officers at the Moroka Police Station and how police officers on duty have offered little to no help when called to assist with crime prevention measures.
The residents have also complained of officers having a cavalier attitude when investigating criminal cases.
But statistics from the SAPS contact crimes report showed that crimes investigated by Moroka Police Station had increased to 76.3% between 2017 and 2022.
Yet the station has been placed in the top 30 list of stations that are struggling to solve crimes or managed to tighten the reins on criminals especially when it comes to cases of assault, attempted murder and robberies.
This basically confirms what the residents have been complaining about that their safety as a community is compromised by the failure of the police to deal with the escalating crime levels.
Pensioner Shadrack Mbatha said that he was displeased with the service from the police officers. Mbatha explained that he reported a violent fight that had broken out in his street in the area of Dlamini on a Saturday night in early August.
“I didn’t know why they were fighting, but you could hear the yelling get louder. I remember I had returned from my neighbour’s house because it was getting dark when I first saw them crowding together three houses down. I ignored them because the young kids like to sit and drink outside with their friends,” Mbatha said.
He then heard voices getting louder while he was watching a movie on DStv. While disregarded at first, he realised it was more than a get-together when he heard voices shouting accusations and insults in isiZulu.
“I got scared because I heard one voice yell that they were going to kill the other person. We have asked our neighbours to be quieter at night or that we would call the police but some hardly listen. So I called them (the Moroka SAPS),” Mbatha said.
An officer told Mbatha that they would send some of his colleagues to the scene to clear the area. Mbatha waited for 30 minutes but saw no blue lights, so he called them again to check if any officers were on the scene or on their way.
“They had the audacity to tell an old man to go back to bed. So I went to sleep and decided not to call them again. I felt very disrespected,” Mbatha said.
Thembi Masondo (not her real name) described her own frustrating experience with the police from Moroka station back in July.
Masondo, 51, explained she was home alone one night when she heard a loud bang on her roof, and then heard something thud upon her tiled floor in her dining area. Upon investigation, she found a bullet casing on her floor and looked up to spot its entry from the ceiling.
“This was the first time something like this happened in the time I’ve been in Soweto, and I’ve lived here all of my life,” Masondo said.
“I called the police line who connected me to Moroka (Police Station) and they told me that they would send an officer to take my statement and take the bullet in for evidence. That was in July, it is now the 10th of August, and the bullet is still sitting in a teacup in my dining room. They never arrived.”
When asked if she had gone to the police station to report the incident, she said that she had not, because she figured that the police were meant to be the first responders.
“In my mind, the police are meant to be in front of my gate minutes after a call is made. I didn’t think I should pester them like I would my child. Is that not why we are meant to put our support behind the police? Because they signed up and trained to protect us?” Masondo said.
At the Soweto imbizo, residents complained to Cele (and deputy minister Cassel Mathale) about the rampant copper theft, substance abuse, extortion of small businesses, and high incidents of murder, sexual violence and robberies.
In response to the cries, Cele said, “We want policing to be community policing. We want to be out there and work together with the community.”
When asked about the performance reports and the measures taken by the Moroka Police Station to improve their responsiveness to residents’ complaints, police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili instead urged residents to make use of the resources available to report police officers who don’t conduct themselves in an appropriate manner.
Muridili said the residents could lodge their complaints about poor police services or report the relevant officers to the SAPS Service Complaints Centre. Internal investigations can only be conducted if a complaint is lodged.
“If the management is not aware of the members’ failure to respond then they will not be able to act against those that failed to do their work. If you have a specific case then I will be able to respond,” Brigadier Muridili said.