There’s a shortage of South African Police Service (SAPS) dogs in the Western Cape. So says the Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC, Anroux Marais.
She has expressed her concern about the shortage.
She says she made the discovery, during a recent oversight visit to the Western Cape SAPS K-9 Unit.
A shortage of SAPS dogs in the Western Cape
Members of Parliament were with her when they made the discovery. Marais says, that in the province, where illicit drugs are at the centre of ongoing gang wars, it came to light, that there are only 2 narcotic dogs in Cape Town.
A massive shortage of police dogs
The MEC says SAPS management in the province told her that dogs were eagerly donated in the past, but this is not the case nowadays. She says that practice has diminished in recent years and procuring dogs has become a challenge.
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At the same time, the Provincial Police Oversight and Community Safety Department has invested extensively in establishing and supporting K-9 Units in various municipalities in recent years to serve as force multipliers.
Force multipliers
MEC Marais has urged the SAPS and Western Cape municipalities with K-9 units to work closer together and share resources and intelligence.
“We can only beat crime through collaboration,” she stressed.
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