Metro Police Unit under scrutiny

eTHEKWINI’s Metro Police Unit is to undergo intense scrutiny with the view of overhauling the department which has seen its fair share of negative press in recent years. At at meeting of EXCO on Tuesday, City Manager Sbu Sithole briefed members about the developmental interventions aimed at stabilising, transforming and modernising the Metro Police Unit.

Sithole said the Municipality needed to identify the root causes behind some of the challenges at Metro Police and take action to deal with those weaknesses. He said it was important to build on the existing strengths and determine what sort of repositioning will be required in the Metro Police Unit going forward.

He said the report will, among other issues, assist the Municipality to maximise the use of existing technology to reduce crime within eThekwini, improve on the overall management of the unit as well the collection and processing of traffic fines.

“We are envisioning that this exercise will be done by independent people with knowledge about policing in general, from a practice and academic point of view because of the sheer scale of the work that has to be done. We want to work with Universities and include the resources that have been to the Police before who have also gone through some of these transformation processes,” said Sithole.

Sithole said he was optimistic that the holistic intervention into Metro Police would bear fruits but warned that this exercise could not be done overnight.

“But for the intervention to materialise it must not be seen as a witch hunt against individuals. It will not be done as though we are doing a forensic investigation because it is not about that. It is about us going to Metro Police and critically taking stock on what their strengths and weaknesses are,” said Sithole.

The exercise will include community involvement by encouraging the public to give feedback on how they would like to see the Metro Police changed. Sithole said similar exercises have being done in other major cities.

“We have been in contact with a range of academics to solicit how a work of this nature needs to be done. A report will then be tabled at the relevant committees and Council,” said Sithole.

“The external exercise will help the Municipality redefine the role of Metro Police and make it a more efficient force. Ultimately the Municipality wants to restore the dignity and public confidence in Metro Police,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sithole said an internal investigation will be conducted into the allegations that some members of Metro Police allegedly assaulted and intimidated Masjid attendees on Friday, 17 January, 2014. He said the Municipality viewed these allegations seriously and he had requested the unit to submit a report so that appropriate action could be taken.