Community policing is under threat in the Eastern Cape.
The community policing forum (CPF) board plans to boycott CPF activities at all 196 police stations in the province in protest at alleged lack of support from the SAPS.
The board held its two-day general council in East London last week, where it passed the resolution with immediate effect.
It said no engagements would be held with SAPS until further notice.
The constitution recognises CPFs and stipulates the establishment of these structures.
This has been further supported by the SAPS Act, which mandates all station commanders to establish CPFs at station level.
Board spokesman Sindinkosi Windvoel said part of their frustration was the police’s lack of interest in combating crime.
“We call them out to attend to a crime and they don’t show up.
“When we see a certain crime at its peak we mobilise the community for a dialogue in conjunction with the police but they never attend.
“The SAPS is not playing its part. They are not resourceful and they refuse to resource our programmes,” Windvoel said.
The board said that since its election in April 2015 provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Celiwe Binta had never attended a single board meeting.
“She keeps sending junior officials who cannot take decisions or even have strategic discussions with the board as these officials are bound by police ranking and protocol,” the board said, adding it was convinced the decline in SAPS participation in CPF work showed a lack of leadership and willingness to support communities and their structures.
In response provincial police spokesman Lieutenant Khaya Tonjeni said they were not aware of any crime scenes or dialogues that had been organised which the SAPS had failed to attend.
The chairman of the portfolio committee on safety and liaison in the Bhisho legislature, Michael Peter, said the board raised the complaints in a meeting with him last week.
“So serious is the matter that in our next committee meeting, which is in two weeks time, we will invite members of the board to come make presentation to the committee.
“If we need to win the fight against crime in this province, government needs to double efforts of community mobilisation and that will never be successful without an active CPF.
“We are not going to allow a situation where we have a demoralised CPF,” Peter said.
Eastern Cape government spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the CPF was an important element of crime fighting strategy.
“We hope the stakeholders will find an immediate solution and take a decision in the best interest of the community. The government has a responsibility to protect communities and it is definitely not in the interest of the community to have these CPF structures cease their activities. They are the backbone of crime fighting.”
DA safety and liaison spokesman Bobby Stevenson said the department of safety and liaison urgently needed to intervene.
“The CPF plays an extremely important role in reduction of crime,” he said. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za