A chronic shortage of DNA collection kits, vehicles and bulletproof vests is hampering the work of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units in the Eastern Cape.
This was revealed by Police Minister Bheki Cele in a written reply to a question from by DA police shadow minister Zakhele Mbhele recently.
His replies painted a grim picture of under-resourcing of the units:
l Nationally, the units are short of 384 vehicles;
l There is also a shortage of 43489 DNA collection kits across the country.
The province with the biggest shortage is Gauteng, with a shortfall of 10300 DNA kits, closely followed by the Eastern Cape, with 10 000 short.
Cele, in his written response, said areas such as Butterworth, Komani, East London and Motherwell in Port Elizabeth have a shortage of 600 DNA kits each.
Other areas including Mdantsane, Port St Johns, Mthatha and Alice are 500 DNA kits short each.
The shortages range from 100 to 600 a FCS unit.
He wrote that the Eastern Cape FCS units need a further 54 vehicles.
Motherwell and Mount Ayliff each need six vehicles and Mthatha at five.
The units are 20 bulletproof vests short.
Mthatha FCS has the biggest deficit of eight vests, followed by Port St Johns at seven.
The provincial FCS units need 28 landline telephones, with the biggest losers being the Motherwell FCS – needing 20 more telephones, he wrote. The FCS units has a shortfall of 26 one-way mirrors for interview observations.
Only the Motherwell FCS has a mirror.
There is a shortage of one recorder for interviews in each of the 27 units.
The units are in need of 33 laptops with the highest need of five in Port St Johns and four in Elliot.
Mbhele said the FCS units were critical for securing justice for the victims.
Mbhele said: “This is horrific and does not bode well for the effective functioning. These resources are crucial for the police to drive swift, quality in investigation of cases.”
Mbhele said the DA had long maintained there was a nationwide police mismanagement crisis and the FCS units were hardest hit.
Victims of rape and abuse, especially were “failed on a constant basis” due to the under-resourced and under-equipped police service. — zolilem@tisoblackstar.co.za
Shocking stats reflect crisis within the SAPS
A chronic shortage of DNA collection kits, vehicles and bulletproof vests is hampering the work of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units in the Eastern Cape.
This was revealed by Police Minister Bheki Cele in a written reply to a question from by DA police shadow minister Zakhele Mbhele recently.
His replies painted a grim picture of under-resourcing of the units:
l Nationally, the units are short of 384 vehicles;
l There is also a shortage of 43489 DNA collection kits across the country.
The province with the biggest shortage is Gauteng, with a shortfall of 10300 DNA kits, closely followed by the Eastern Cape, with 10 000 short.
Cele, in his written response, said areas such as Butterworth, Komani, East London and Motherwell in Port Elizabeth have a shortage of 600 DNA kits each.
Other areas including Mdantsane, Port St Johns, Mthatha and Alice are 500 DNA kits short each.
The shortages range from 100 to 600 a FCS unit.
He wrote that the Eastern Cape FCS units need a further 54 vehicles.
Motherwell and Mount Ayliff each need six vehicles and Mthatha at five.
The units are 20 bulletproof vests short.
Mthatha FCS has the biggest deficit of eight vests, followed by Port St Johns at seven.
The provincial FCS units need 28 landline telephones, with the biggest losers being the Motherwell FCS – needing 20 more telephones, he wrote. The FCS units has a shortfall of 26 one-way mirrors for interview observations.
Only the Motherwell FCS has a mirror.
There is a shortage of one recorder for interviews in each of the 27 units.
The units are in need of 33 laptops with the highest need of five in Port St Johns and four in Elliot.
Mbhele said the FCS units were critical for securing justice for the victims.
Mbhele said: “This is horrific and does not bode well for the effective functioning. These resources are crucial for the police to drive swift, quality in investigation of cases.”
Mbhele said the DA had long maintained there was a nationwide police mismanagement crisis and the FCS units were hardest hit.
Victims of rape and abuse, especially were “failed on a constant basis” due to the under-resourced and under-equipped police service. — zolilem@tisoblackstar.co.za
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