The Western Cape recorded the highest police station telephone reachability rate in South Africa during a recent nationwide audit, but the findings show that nearly one in four stations in the province could still not be reached.
The audit, conducted by the Democratic Alliance (DA), tested the responsiveness of all 1 025 South African Police Service (SAPS) stations across the country by calling the official contact numbers listed for each station.
Of the Western Cape’s 153 police stations, 115 answered at least one of their listed telephone numbers, while 38 failed to answer. This gave the province a reachability rate of 75,2%, the highest in the country.
Nationally, only 454 police stations answered at least one of their listed telephone numbers, while 571 failed to answer any calls, resulting in a national reachability rate of just 44%.
The Northern Cape recorded the second-highest reachability rate at 58,9%, followed by Gauteng at 54,1%. Limpopo recorded the lowest rate, with only 10% of police stations answering their phones.
According to the DA, many of the stations that failed the audit are located in communities that rely heavily on telephone access to report crimes, request assistance and obtain updates on cases.
The report noted that many calls went unanswered, while others were met with engaged tones or disconnected lines. Several stations identified as high-crime priority stations were also reportedly unreachable during the audit.
The DA said the findings mirror concerns raised during a recent oversight visit to the SAPS 10111 emergency call centre, where issues such as staff shortages, outdated techno-logy and communication challenges were identified.
The DA has called on Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola to urgently address the shortcomings and improve access to police services.
One in four Western Cape police stations unreachable in telephone audit
