R87m Joza Police Station opens in Grahamstown

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa officially handed over the R87 million Joza Police Station, in Grahamstown, on Thursday.

The newly opened Joza Police Station, in Grahamstown, will go a long way in creating a much needed feeling of safety in the community.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa officially handed over the R87 million Joza Police Station, in Grahamstown, on Thursday.

The police station will serve a community of more than 40 000 people, whom before it opened, the closest police station was located in the centre of Grahamstown, making it costly or difficult for the people of Joza and the surrounding rural areas to access police services.

The new 3 500m2 double storey building accommodates 125 SAPS personnel and is situated on nearly a hectare of land on the main road into Joza and close to the Fort Beaufort/Grahamstown crossroads.

“This new police station brings policing services to the doorstep of the people of Joza,” said Minister Nathi Mthethwa, after the official hand-over ceremony.

The minister said the idea of a police station for Joza was first raised in 2005 when people complained to SAPS that the local police station was too far away.

“Now, after a process of budgeting, planning and working with the community, we have brought the police station to Joza, knowing that in doing so we are meeting the community’s needs for adequate policing services,” he said, who also handed over nine new patrol vehicles to the station.

Like all newly built police stations in South Africa, station features a large Community Service Centre and a “victim friendly” facility that is designed to ease the trauma of victims of crime.

“In all the new police stations that we build, and those that are being refurbished, we ensure that there are these facilities so that the police are better able to deal with violence against women, children and the elderly,” said Minister Mthethwa.

The new Joza Police Station is also equipped with an emergency generator to ensure that the station is able to function at all times, and the site has ample parking space.