Infrastructure and information and communication technology (ICT) challenges at the Pretoria West police station “severely” undermine effective policing and service delivery.
This is the concern raised by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s community safety portfolio committee, following an oversight visit to the station.
According to the committee, the police station has to make do with outdated computer equipment and slow, unreliable network connectivity.
This, it states, hampers critical administrative functions, delays case processing, disrupts access to essential policing systems and undermines the overall efficiency of law enforcement operations.
The committee is further concerned about the fragmented infrastructure arrangement, whereby the station operates from three separate office buildings.
“A police station is the nerve centre of community safety and cannot be expected to effectively combat crime while operating under such unacceptable conditions,” it says.
The committee has called on Gauteng police commissioner lieutenant general Tommy Mthombeni to urgently intervene and ensure immediate remedial action to address the station’s infrastructure and ICT challenges, strengthen operational capacity and restore confidence in policing services in Pretoria West.
“Communities deserve police stations that are properly resourced, functional and capable of effectively responding to crime. The current situation at Pretoria West police station undermines public trust and weakens the fight against crime.”
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