The Delft community may soon have its wishes come true, as a second police station might be built in the area.
Community activist Sisa Makaula said load shedding had exacerbated the high levels of crime in Delft.
“When there is load shedding, alarms are not working and vandalism of schools is heightened. There is also a high level of cable theft when it’s dark. The informal settlements that surround the Delft community invite a lot of lawlessness too.
“We need a second police station. The community has grown and it needs services to be expanded too. Security clusters are being biased when dealing with Delft, knowing very well where Delft stands in the crime statistics.
“There should be mobile police stations visible during the day. There are plenty of those in town. The police and the community are not working well together. We are being threatened and living in fear,” he said.
An elderly Delft community resident, who did not want to be named, said: “We have been battling with high levels of crime and are living in fear in Delft. We are saying enough is enough. We cannot live like this any longer.
“Community members are calling for a second police station to be opened. There is currently one police station that services the entire Delft community. That cannot be the case. Delft has a big community that is marred with crime,” the resident said.
Ward 24 councillor Phumla Tause said that she took part in a site walk for a potential second police station in Delft on Monday.
“There should have been a second police station long ago. This issue has been an issue even before I became a ward councillor.
“It must be noted that police stations do not end crime. It is the people who should be speaking up and exposing the people they know are committing these crimes.
“On the load shedding, there was high crime in Delft even before load shedding. Yes, it could have been slightly heightened because of load shedding but Delft has always had a crime issue. It is in the top five for crime in the country.
“The police are working very well with the community and they are doing their job. The second police station will assist community members with certifying and affidavits, but I do not foresee it dismantling crime,” she said.
Tause said the land potentially identified for the police station is centrally located.
“The walkabout on Monday was to identify vacant land that can be utilised. For now, the land identified is on the southern side of Delft.
“I want to emphasise that this second police station might happen, I do not want to make promises and then when plans don’t pull through I look like a liar,” she said.
SAPS did not confirm or deny the possibility of a second police station and said they remained concerned about the prevalence of violent crime, more specifically murders in the Delft policing area, which many are regarded as gang-related.
“In addition, the incidents recorded recently were sporadic incidents, with no definite pattern.
“Integrated deployments, supplemented by high density patrols involving SAPS specialised units and other law enforcement entities and counterparts such as Traffic, City of Cape Town Law Enforcement and LEAP (Law Enforcement Advancement Plan), were initiated on an ongoing basis.
“Weekly integrated operations, compliance inspections and crime combating operations to address crime generators such as illicit drugs and firearms, dubbed ‘Operation Shanela’, (were) rolled out as a regular feature with excellent results in the confiscation of illegal drugs and firearms, weekly.
“These operations are ongoing, indefinitely,” SAPS said.