56% of South African police stations don’t answer their phones 

A nationwide audit conducted by the DA under Ian Cameron, which included 1,025 police stations, revealed that 56% of SAPS stations do not answer their phones. 

The audit used the officially listed South African Police Service emergency number: 10111. 

Cameron revealed that 571 stations did not answer, with the Limpopo province rated lowest, with only 9 of 87 stations responding to calls. 

In Mbombela, Mpumalanga, only 5 out of 11 centres are operational. In Durban Central, 10 out of 16 centres are operational.  

In Phokeng, North West, the entire system is non-operational, and in Welkom, Free State, one centre has been non-operational for a full year. 

Cameron said that in a country with high crime rates, operational capacity is essential, and citizens should not have to doubt whether the SAPS will respond.

“Somebody in danger may struggle to reach the police when every minute matters,” he said.

He claimed that some issues include motherboard damage, system failures, faulty phones, and network issues. 

Cameron noted that SAPS receives one of the largest allocated budgets among all departments, and that a lack of funding cannot be used as an excuse.

He explained that the mismanagement of funds, corruption, and lack of infrastructure maintenance led to this crisis.

In July 2025, the police minister, Senzo Mchunu, was placed on full-pay suspension linked to charges of meddling in police affairs, political murders, and fraud.

Firoz Cachalia was appointed as the acting police minister in August 2025. 

“Although Cachalia had already spent months in office, he was unable to outline a plan or timeline to restore accountability, discipline, or public trust in SAPS,” he said.

Minister Cachalia revealed that 510 SAPS employees had been convicted of crimes since 1 November 2016, and that 284 of them were still on duty in November 2026. 

Recently, 26 SAPS officials have been implicated in the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, including the National Commissioner of SAPS, General Fannie Masemola. 

On 23 April 2026, Masemola was placed on suspension regarding tender tampering and fraud, allegedly in connection with Vusimuzo “Cat” Matlala. 

He was discharged following a review by the National Prosecuting Authority, which withdrew all charges in late September. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa lifted his suspension, and he returned to active duty in October 2026. 

General Masemola pledged to restore public trust and deliver responsive police service. 

Cameron urged the government to implement a modern emergency control and command system featuring reliable caller location identification, automatic dispatch, and routing. 

“A police service that the public cannot consistently reach cannot effectively fulfil its mandate,” Cameron said.