The Dobsonville police station in Soweto says it is struggling to combat crime in and around the township, due to lack of capacity. 

The head of supportive services at Dobsonville SAPS, Lieutenant Colonel Doctor Nyambi, said the number of people the station had to serve and protect in the community was increasing on a daily basis and it was becoming a challenge

Nyambi was speaking to DA leader Mmusi Maimane during an oversight visit at the station on Wednesday. 

Maimane was joined by the party's Gauteng premier candidate Solly Msimanga, chief whip John Steenhuisen and MPL Makashule Gana. 

The team walked around the station and interacted with people who were queuing for assistance at the busy station.

"It's true that our station has got a challenge. The area of Dobsonville is so big now," Nyambi said.

Nyambi said areas such as Slovoville had added to sectors that the station was meant to police, although the station did not have the capacity.

The station operates with 283 members, 62 of whom are detectives, Nyambi said. 

He said 23 vehicles were used for visible policing, while 32 were used by detectives.

Nyambi said the station had to attend to the following sectors: Braamfischer sector 1 and 2, Dobsonville extension, Doornkop, and Slovoville.

"Now we are in a process of opening Doornkop as a station on its own, but this is not something that is happening because we are in a process. They are still looking at that," said Nyambi.

He said they needed more vehicles and manpower.

'We want a Gauteng where people will feel safe'

Added to this, Nyambi said some of the areas that officers had to police were not conducive to the type of cars the station has. As a result, some of the cars would get damaged and needed to be fixed, leading to further shortages.

The team was also told that the station did not currently have a unit which dealt with women and child abuse. 

Addressing a crowd outside the station, Msimanga said it was important that corruption within police ranks was dealt with in order for the police to regain their dignity. 

"Right now, our people come to police stations to lay charges, not because they want to resolve issues, but to just get case numbers so they could claim for insurances for their phones. 

"That's not what we want. We want a Gauteng where people will feel safe, a Gauteng that will ensure that ultimately you and me will be safe walking on the streets," Msimanga said. 

'We don't need politicians to be protected'

Steenhuisen said the DA would fight to ensure that the police were given the right tools in order to operate and fight crime. 

Maimane added that police could not chase serious criminals with poorly performing cars. 

"We cannot have police chasing people in BMW X5s with Corollas. We want to give the police the best vehicles so that we can come and arrest criminals killing our people," said Maimane. 

He said he had instructed all DA-led governments that no politicians should be given fancy vehicles and VIP protection.

"We don't need politicians to be protected. We need citizens to be protected," said Maimane.