125 Western Cape police stations lack secure storage for detective dockets, oversight reveals

A recent provincial audit found that 125 of the Western Cape’s 151 police stations do not have a secure strongroom for detective dockets, leaving sensitive case files stored in ordinary offices. The finding was disclosed by provincial police oversight and community safety MEC Anroux Marais in a written reply to the legislature.

Audit details and limitations

The figure comes from the department’s police census for the 2023/24 financial year, which checked all 151 stations in the province. Marais noted that the department has not done a newer audit and said “the situation may have changed.”

Related facility and technology problems

The same audit identified additional infrastructure and systems issues that the MEC said hamper police work:

• 69 police stations had poor network connectivity.
• 121 stations had slow systems, particularly the Integrated Case Docket Management System.
• 81 police stations had insufficient SAPS 13 storage.
• 68% of stations had insufficient archive storage.
• 51 stations did not have safes for the detective service.

Vehicle and tracking shortcomings

Marais also reported problems with operational vehicles and tracking:

• 54 police stations had some vehicles not suitable for the terrain within their policing precinct.
• 50 stations with operational vehicles fitted with the Automated Vehicle Location System indicated that the system “is not functional hence it cannot be used for tracking patrols and other policing activities.”

Equipment inventory

The audit listed numbers for basic gear held across the province:

• 71,765 pepper sprays
• 19,014 service firearms
• 21,173 handcuffs
• 23,418 batons
• 26,418 flashlights
• 8,466 two-way radios

Concerns from activists

Anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee responded to the revelation, calling it “deeply concerning.” In a statement he warned that “police dockets and evidence are the backbone of any criminal investigation” and said storing sensitive case files in ordinary offices “raises serious questions about the integrity of investigations.”

“If sensitive case files involving murder, robbery, rape and organised crime are being stored in ordinary offices rather than secure, access-controlled facilities, it raises serious questions about the integrity of investigations. The risks are obvious: dockets can be lost, tampered with, stolen or accessed by unauthorised individuals.” Yusuf Abramjee

Abramjee added that the scale of the finding “suggests a systemic infrastructure problem rather than isolated shortcomings.”

What the disclosure means

The census results, as reported by MEC Marais, show multiple practical gaps in storage, technology and vehicle readiness across the Western Cape police footprint as of the 2023/24 audit. The department has not released a more recent province-wide audit, and Marais acknowledged the possibility that conditions “may have changed.”