Pretoria - Police vehicles are state-owned property and must be effectively used by police officers to fight crime, says Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
Responding to a question in Parliament about the number of police vehicles available at police stations nationwide, Mthethwa noted a common concern from communities was the slow response from police when called out to a crime scene.
"In some instances, this is as a result of the lack of resources, including vehicles, but in other instances it is purely a management system in terms of administrating these vehicles," he said.
Mthethwa added that the importance of an equitable distribution of resources, including vehicles, had been stressed to SAPS management.
It was important that these resources were used to serve communities, he said.
"To this end, we also want to emphasise that those who abuse such resources, that stricter and harsher measures are taken against them. We cannot provide communities with excuses when it comes to fighting crime, it is our conviction, our duty to serve and we have to do it smarter and faster."
According recent figures, the Eastern Cape has 3 843 active vehicles, Free State 1 848, Gauteng 5 524, KwaZulu-Natal 4 357, Limpopo 2 659, Mpumalanga 1 410, North West 1 446, Northern Cape 985 and Western Cape 4 436.
Mthethwa said these figures excluded vehicles used by specialised units that were placed at station level.
