Statement by Ian Cameron MP – DA Deputy Spokesperson on Police:
It is alarming that, despite exposing the shocking number of police stations that cannot be reached by telephone, the situation has worsened. Instead of fixing the problem, South Africans are being left even more vulnerable by a police service that continues to fail them.
That is why today we have written to the Acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, again, requesting an urgent meeting with both the Minister and the Acting National Commissioner. We have also submitted our updated audit because this crisis is deepening, and people deserve action instead of excuses.
After releasing our first police station calling audit, we approached the Acting Minister of Police with our findings and called for urgent intervention. While the Acting Minister acknowledged receipt of our report and referred it to the Acting National Commissioner, the crisis has continued to deepen, with even more police stations now failing to answer their phones.
Our second audit, conducted over five days between 7 and 13 July 2026, shows that the situation is getting worse, not better. Compared to our first audit, the percentage of police stations that could not be reached increased from 56% to an average of 58.18%, reaching a staggering 61% on 7 July. More than half of South Africa’s police stations are still failing to answer when people need them most.
The biggest reasons for these failures were phones with no tone (22%), calls that simply went unanswered (21.4%), and telephone numbers that no longer exist (11%). These are not minor technical glitches. They are signs of a police service that is failing at one of its most basic responsibilities while the ANC continues to preside over its decline.
South Africans deserve a police service that answers when they call for help. We request practical solutions going forward, including repairing telephone infrastructure, holding station commanders accountable where phones repeatedly go unanswered, maintaining an accurate national contact database, and ensuring that National Priority Stations are always reachable.
We will continue our audit and keep holding those responsible to account until every person can rely on their nearest police station to answer when it matters most.
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Fun South African Fact: The only manufacturer of the Mercedes Benz C Class right hand drive cars is none other than South Africa.
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