Florida Police Detectives still without offices

At the beginning of last year, the Florida Police Station Detectives had an unfortunate turn of events when their office building lease expired and no renewal was granted by the owner.

The Detectives received notice from the owner in 2018 that from the end of February 2019 onwards, they would not renew their contract. The Department of Public Works put out a tender for office accommodation for the Detectives, but because of the timelines required for the tender process to run its course, no offices were found before 1 March.

Last year, Ward 70 councillor, Caleb Finn together with Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament, Dennis Ryder, arranged an oversight visit to the Detectives’ previous offices, before the evacuation due date. Ryder said, “This failure was not only an insult to the detectives and the Florida Police Station, but also to all South Africans who merely want to get through their daily lives with assurance that the criminal justice system is protecting them”.

Due to the fact that the Department of Public Works is still looking for suitable accommodation, the Detectives had to relocate to the Florida Police Station hall, where they have been working for over a year now. Since then the Station Management has been in communication with the Department of Public Works on a regular basis regarding a new office site.

Later in 2019, the Florida Community Policing Forum (CPF) called a board meeting to discuss the problems. According to the statement, they mentioned that dockets could not be securely managed, witnesses could not be assisted and that at times it was nearly impossible to handle criminal cases and prepare for court trials, which remain an issue.

The statement also read, “Despite numerous repeated requests, both the Florida Police Station commander and the Head of the Detectives have been unable to resolve this problem with the Department of Public Works which, it seems, is more interested in placing their political preferences and ideology above the safety and security interests of all residents in the Florida policing precinct by ignoring their needs”. It concluded by saying that the Department of Public Works is blatantly failing to ensure that the Detectives are able to serve the Florida community adequately, and operate under efficient and effective conditions.

Except for being relocated to a small hall, there is also a water leak that is constantly flooding the building. On more than one occasion, the detectives have had to continue operating in the poor conditions while water flooded the whole floor, damaging plugs, dockets, and more.

According to Florida Police Station spokesperson, Sergeant Mpho More, the Minister of Public Works is aware of the situation. She also mentioned that regarding the water problem, supply chain management is handling the situation and that they were calling a plumber to fix it.

“The Department of Public Works is also still in the progress of organising park homes that will be places at the station for the Detectives to use until a suitable office is found. No estimated time has been given to us as to when we can expect either,” More concluded.

The Department of Public Works was contacted for comment but by the time this article was published none had been received.