AfriForum believes that criminal police officers should receive the harshest punishment and that merely discharging them is not enough.
According to AfriForum, Bheki Cele’s announcement yesterday that 1 172 members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) had been dismissed in the past five years because of their involvement in crimes (including serious crimes), is proof of the complete collapse of true justice in the civil service, because the Police should rather spearhead justice.
“Members of the SAPS should set the example and should therefore be punished much harsher for crimes that they are involved in,” says Ian Cameron, AfriForum’s Head of Community Safety. “Furthermore, the SAPS announced on 13 October last year that altogether 2 270 weapons have been lost by them or had been stolen from them in the preceding three years. This means that criminals within and outside the SAPS are indirectly armed by the State.”
This speaks volumes about the collapse of the SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority, as well as the worrisome way in which the SAPS’s recruitment screening is done.
To top it all, it seems that many dismissed members were not properly prosecuted in a criminal court to take responsibility for their crimes.
“The fact that – despite the many dismissed members – there remain many a pending case against SAPS members paints a very dark picture of the degree to which the SAPS structures are corrupt and out of control. A country’s police service should create a sense of safety among their citizens. These types of revelations are increasingly emphasising the fact that communities must turn to real action and mobilisation to create their own safety,” Cameron concludes.