Police stations are 'shopping malls'
January 22 2013 at 02:14pm
By Yogas Nair
By Yogas Nair
DAILY NEWS
Berea policemen, from
left, Sergeant Nithia Pillay, Sergeant Carl Dennis, Warrant Officer Chris
Durandt, Warrant Officer Bechoo Nundlall and Captain Thomas Naidoo with items
stolen hours earlier from the Berea police detective branchs offices.
Durban - Unsecured police stations and
detective offices are becoming “shopping malls” for criminals on the prowl for
guns, computers and other valuable exhibits, DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard has
warned.
Her warning came less than 24 hours
after criminals broke into the Berea SAPS detectives offices in Lambert Road
and stole computer hard drives and laptops containing sensitive information, as
well as cellphones and torches.
Kohler Barnard said the incident
was not isolated to KwaZulu-Natal.
“This lax attitude towards ensuring
police stations and detective offices are well secured is a national concern.
In fact, I don’t think that there is a single station in the country that has
filing cabinets that lock,” she said. “Valuable dockets are kept in these
cabinets.”
She described the lack of security at
police stations around the country as “absolutely outrageous”.
“Detectives handle sensitive cases and
evidence. Security should be of the utmost importance,” Kohler Barnard said.
“Any police building should be
impregnable. Investigations and the hard work of detectives should not be
compromised.”
A high-ranking police source told the
Daily News that the detective offices were unsecured - there were no burglar
guards or alarm system and no security guards on duty.
The property, which is owned by the
Department of Public Works, has housed the Berea detective branch for more than
20 years.
The source said the issue of security
had been raised with the provincial police commissioner’s officer several
times.
“The request for security was turned
down each time because of budget constraints. A lack of security at these
offices should be viewed in a very serious light,” he said.
“Sensitive information regarding
investigations, firearms and exhibits are housed on the premises. Other than a
safe for the exhibits, all dockets and other information relating to
investigations are vulnerable.”
At this stage it is not clear if any
dockets were stolen during the robbery. The source said an inventory was being
conducted to account for all the dockets.
It was also not certain whether any of
the dockets had been copied or tampered with, he said.
The robbers had also made a failed
attempt to gain entry into the exhibit safe.
“It was so easy for them. They broke
the front lock and walked into the premises. ”
The source said the last request for
security had been made in May when vagrants were found to be sleeping in the
garage on the property.
“This appeal was ignored too. The
detectives were once again told there was no money for security.”
Kohler Barnard said: ”Security is the
responsibility of the provincial commissioner. Why is she not doing her job?”
She said easy access by criminals into
police stations resulted in guns flooding the streets.
“Police stations should have the
highest security control. Detectives have the hardest job and this kind of
criminality undermines them greatly.”
For the 2012/2013 financial year, R62.4
billion was budgeted for the police.
”If the police cannot protect
themselves, how on earth are they going to protect the citizens of this
country? Criminals are robbing police stations as easily as they would a house.
“In fact, police stations are becoming
like shopping malls for criminals. They can walk in and select any gun or
docket they like,” she said.
KZN police spokesman Colonel Vincent
Mdunge said the break-in at the detective offices was a worry.
“We have found that there is a risk
factor at these detective offices and core management is addressing it as a
priority. Security measures will be implemented in coming days.”
He said the Berea detectives were
housed in Lambert Road because of space constraints at the police station.
“The thugs that were arrested made a
horrible mistake. Our investigations reveal they thought they were breaking
into business premises. They did not realise it was police premises.”
Mdunge said the incident had raised
alarm bells and the provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye
Ngobeni, was adamant that there would be no repeat at any station in KZN.
Daily News
