The long-standing good service record of the Durban Metro Police appears to be in danger, with the police facing a drastic shortage of vehicles, petrol, manpower and firearms.
It has been learned that a meeting of "stakeholders" is to take place on Friday in a bid to address the problems.
Retired businessman Merrick Rubin was among several residents who contacted the Daily News after being told by the Metro Police that there were no cars to respond to complaints.
In one instance, police told a complainant that there was only one vehicle to patrol the area from Durban International Airport to Durban North and Cato Manor.
In addition, the vehicle was restricted to using only 36 litres of petrol.
Metro Police Regional Commander Steven Edwards conceded there were problems.
He said Metro Police has asked for about R150-million to purchase new vehicles but the council, faced with its own constraints, had granted only R5-million.
About 56 new vehicles had been gathering dust and rusting in the police parking-lot near Old Fort Road for the past two months because they were not yet marked and fitted with the necessary crime-fighting equipment.
He said even when these vehicles were deployed, which he hoped would be "soon", there would not be enough to serve the Unicity.
"We actually need at least 700 new officers," said Edwards, adding that these would be replacements for those who had left the police service.
There was a need to employ more officers to police the newly extended area of jurisdiction, he said.
The former City Police was expected to patrol and respond to crime in the CBD and surrounding suburbs only but, since the inception of Metro Police in 2000, officers were expected to travel as far as the surrounding townships and outlying rural areas to serve communities.
About the petrol shortage, Edwards said an officer in charge of the beachfront area had kept two vehicles parked for a week because there was no fuel available.
He also alleged there was increasing abuse of the fuel supply by some officers, and that this was a reason for the chaos.
Officials were now forced to impose a limit on the amount of petrol allocated to each vehicle, he said.
Adding to their woes, a number of students who graduated as full constables in January carried only batons and teargas canisters, while criminals were armed. This was because officers had not yet been issued with firearms.
Edwards agreed it was unsafe for the officers to be without firearms and said, as part of an ongoing bid to resolve the problems, a meeting of "stakeholders" would take place on Friday.