Wednesday marked the closing date for staff transfers from the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO) to the new Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI).

DA shadow cabinet spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard has since written to the Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa requesting that he release final figures on the number of investigators who will be transferring to the DPCI.

"I will also submit parliamentary questions on this matter at the earliest possible opportunity," she said.

As of last week, 137 investigators had agreed to transfer to the DPCI, which, read alongside Parliamentary Question No 52 (17 February 2009), implies that the vacancy rate for the new unit will be somewhere in the region of 68 percent.

When in a potentially dangerous situation who would you turn to?

The most obvious answer is the police.

Well, that is what Jarryd Viviers did last Friday, and unfortunately, those he sought for protection, nearly cost him his life.

According to here ,on Friday night, Jarryd, 24, was on his way from De Deur to his home in Apple Orchards when a car started following him.
He noticed that the car was following him and it started flashing its headlights non-stop. He decided to drive past his house rather then stop and be robbed and killed by hijackers in his driveway.

He kept driving - looking desperately for some help.

According to an article in yesterday’s Sunday Time’s, the government has announced a new strategy to fight criminals terrorising communities.

Usually I would be quite upbeat about this, as it shows that the Government is being proactive, but this new strategy has left me a bit concerned.

The new strategy involves recruiting and deploying thousands of unemployed youths, arming them with two-way radios and torches, and then sending them out to patrol the country’s crime-ridden streets, acting as the eyes and ears of the police.

Last week, it was revealed that a large number of 10111 call centre calls were not being attended to. Now, it has been reported that as many as three in four reported domestic violence incidents are not being recorded properly, or at all, at South African Police Stations.

According to DA spokesperson on safety and security Dianne Kohler Barnard, a report from the Auditor-General documents chronic failings in adequately reporting domestic violence incidents at Police Stations in eight of the nine provinces.

How often do you use the SAPS call centre 10111?

I have used it a few times, particularly when I have been away on holiday, and am not familiar with the local police station contact details.

I have to say, that on each occasion I got through pretty quickly and the operator was friendly and efficient. Now, whether anything was done after that call, to be honest, I am not sure. Each time I had phoned, I had left, or had already left the scene, to ensure my safety.

After this experience I was then quite shocked to see a report that stated that there have been critical failures in service delivery at 10111 call centres.

According to a report by the Auditor-General, at the request of the DA, vast numbers of calls to the 10111 call centre are not attended to.

Every single registered voter who supports the DA must go out and vote in the election on Wednesday. Your vote is critical: it could be the vote that tips the scales. The mathematics are simple: the more DA voters turn out relative to ANC voters, the better our chances are of stopping Jacob Zuma from getting the two-thirds majority he needs to change the Constitution.