Many South African police are battling one of the world's highest crime rates without bulletproof vests or vehicles, and little training, according to a survey by opposition lawmakers. The main opposition Democratic Alliance said its parliamentarians had visited 20 police stations in six provinces for the study, which revealed glaring shortages in equipment and resources. "The equipment is there, it is just not being handed out," said DA security spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard. The South African Police Services annual report issued in October 2008 said there were 165,505 bulletproof vests, 207,323 firearms and over 40,000 vehicles for the country's 140,000 police officers. She said the lack of equipment as well as insufficient training and office space was contributing to police deaths and hampering the fight against crime. South Africa is one of the world's most violent countries with over 50 murders committed a day. "Just last month, over a period of nine days, five police offers were killed," said Kohler Barnard. In the Eastern Cape, one police station used a parking garage to store evidence, and was short of basic equipment such as handcuffs, torches, first aid kits and radios while another lacked 52 cars. In many police stations detectives had not undergone the required training, and up to 20 posts stood vacant, the study said. In the richest province, Gauteng, stations struggled without enough fax machines and telephones, and didn't have proper interrogation rooms or victim support centres. "A woman who has been raped is dumped on a bench and told to tell her story to a fascinated audience," said Kohler-Barnard. Safety minister Nathi Mthethwa said in reply to a parliamentary question by the DA that he would no longer answer queries related to police resources because this would "impact negatively on our operational deployments of human and material resources."
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