Ekurhuleni is facing a serious safety crisis, yet its municipal police service is operating below capacity.
The DA has a plan to professionalise and capacitate the EMPD, while actually implementing basic by-laws – safety is a local government competency, and by doing the basics, we can actually protect residents.
12 women’s bodies have been discovered in Ekurhuleni in just two months, while kidnappings in Kempton Park have risen by 60%. At the same time, 297 of the EMPD’s 1,498 vehicles are out of service due to mechanical failures, maintenance backlogs and accident damage.
That means fewer patrols, slower response times and less police visibility in communities that need protection most. Every vehicle sitting in a workshop is a patrol that is not happening and a potential emergency response delayed.
Residents deserve answers: How long have these vehicles been off the road? What is causing the delays? How much is being spent on repairs, and who is accountable?
But EMPD’s problems go beyond vehicles.
Following years of corruption scandals and policing failures, serious questions must also be asked about the integrity of those wearing the EMPD uniform.
In February, the City restarted vetting more than 3,500 EMPD officials after a four-year gap. By April, 3,551 officials had been processed, with 125 flagged for questionable criminal histories.
This follows a 2022 verification process that identified 275 officers with previous convictions, with a further 100 awaiting trial.
How did officials with criminal histories come to serve in the EMPD, and why did it take four years for vetting to resume?
EMPD must be a true crime-fighting police department — not a “Cooldrink Police Department”.
People deserve to live, work and move around Ekurhuleni without fear. When crime takes hold, women are afraid to walk or exercise alone, children cannot play freely, businesses spend more on security, and families retreat behind walls and locked gates. Investment and jobs suffer, and communities lose trust in law enforcement.
The DA’s priority is clear: fix EMPD and make Ekurhuleni safer for all.
A DA-led Ekurhuleni will:
- Clean up and rebuild EMPD, with professional, properly resourced officers and greater visibility on the streets.
- Get vehicles back on the road, starting with a full audit of vehicles out of service, clear targets for repairs, and prioritising restored vehicles in high-crime hotspots such as Kempton Park.
- Strengthen crime-fighting capacity by introducing an investigative and detection unit over time.
- Connect EMPD, SAPS, private security, CPFs and neighbourhood watches to share information and coordinate responses.
- Use technology to fight crime, including CCTV, crime-data analysis, gunfire detection and smarter dispatch systems.
- Support community safety structures with training, equipment and technology.
- Publish crime trends and response information so resources can be directed to hotspots and residents can hold law enforcement accountable.
- Target GBV hotspots with coordinated policing and stronger partnerships between EMPD, SAPS, private security and communities.
In our first 100 days, the DA will push to get EMPD vehicles back on the road, set clear targets for returning them to patrol, and prioritise resources for areas facing the greatest threat from crime.
Safety is a basic responsibility of government. The DA will Fix EMPD. Make Ekurhuleni safer. Get Ekurhuleni working for all.