Pretoria - Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has cracked the whip on station commanders in the Eastern Cape, giving them 24 hours to address issues raised by communities in the area.
The minister was in Ndevana, Eastern Cape, on Thursday where he met with the public to hear their concerns about police and crime in the area.
Residents told Mthethwa about their dissatisfaction with some of the local police stations.
Issues raised included poor response time by police, allegations of bribery, a lack of resources and fears that the women and children would become victims of rapists.
The community also recognised the good work done by some police officers.
The minister quizzed local station commanders on the allegations, as well as their relationship with the communities.
The station commanders promised to follow up all the concerns raised and made their cellphone numbers available to the community.
Mthethwa warned incompetent and lazy police officers that their days with the SAPS were numbered.
Concerns about police laziness or alleged involvement in criminality raised at the meeting would be investigated by provincial management, he said.
The minister gave police 24 hours to deal with the issues raised at the meeting and expected to be updated on progress made.
Mthethwa also pointed out the need for tactical changes, which included being smart about kind of deployment and resources that were implemented and anchoring the police approach on intelligence.
The best intelligence would originate from communities, he said.
"On the issue of under-resourced police vehicles, it is important for the police to ensure they distribute these accordingly. We do not want to hear allegations that some police officers go to Shoprite Checkers and buy groceries with police vans, or go and go visit boyfriends and girlfriends in police cars," the minister cautioned.
He called for more community participation in the fight against crime.
"We hold a view that for as long as criminals continue to terrorize the residents of Ndevana, police must not rest. Parents must not rest. Communities must not rest; and for as long as Ndevana women and young girls cannot walk freely without fear of being raped, we must all never rest."
Mthethwa urged communities to report crime immediately instead of conducting their own searches. Failing to do so could result in delays and give rise to vigilantism which could based on the belief that police were not being proactive.
