Hundreds of cops in Gauteng probed over serious criminal offences

At least 459 police officers are being investigated for serious criminal offences in Gauteng, the provincial government said this week.

The revelation comes as Gauteng MEC for community safety Faith Mazibuko responded in writing to questions posed by the DA’s community safety shadow MEC Michael Shackleton in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

Of the 459, only four of the police officers were said to have been currently suspended.

A total of 11 cases were also said to have been finalised in the previous financial year with six of these resulting in convictions.

In her written response, Mazibuko also said the officers were convicted for carjacking, corruption, extortion, common assault and contempt of court.

Shackleton, meanwhile, sounded the alarm over the figures explaining that not only was the safety and security of residents in the province compromised, but also led to people losing trust and confidence in law-enforcement agencies.

“Gauteng residents’ safety and security are worryingly compromised as police officers, tasked with preventing anything that may threaten their safety or security and ensuring criminals are brought to justice, are also currently being investigated for committing serious criminal offences.”

“Such acts have resulted in people losing the critical trust and confidence needed in law-enforcement agencies and leaving residents more vulnerable,” he said.

Some of the criminal offences the police officers faced included reckless and negligent driving; common assault; assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm; attempted murder; theft; house and business robbery; fraud; corruption; bribery; and domestic violence.

The station with the most police officer offenders was the Tsakane police station, followed by Krugersdorp, Benoni and Hekpoort police stations.

The stations have 35, 28 and 15 police officers who had committed criminal offences.

Officers at the Hekpoort police stations were charged with common assault and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

“It is a clear indication that the SAPS is failing in its responsibility to prevent, combat and investigate crime as well as ensure police officers uphold the law instead of breaking it,” Shackleton said.

He further said it was “high time” that the national government responded to the DA’s demand for a complete overhaul of the SAPS.

This, he said, would curb corruption while retaining good police officers and hiring of people with a passion for policing to make the police service honest, professional and one which served and protected the people.

Meanwhile, the MEC noted that she was concerned by the number of officers currently under investigation.

“Law-enforcement officers are supposed to be exemplary citizens who do not engage in criminal activities. They are supposed to be the ones who deter criminals from committing crimes and also bring them to book for crimes committed,” Mazibuko’s spokesperson Pinkie Numa said.

She added that Mazibuko, however, was encouraged by the investigations into the officers as it meant that they were not getting away with criminal activities.

“These investigations also indicate that there are women and men in law enforcement who are committed to serving and protecting the citizens of Gauteng to the extent that they protect citizens even against their own colleagues,” Numa said.

Another concern of the MEC, according to Numa, was the low rate of convictions compared to the number of cases under investigation.

She added that the MEC would look into the reasons why the cases against the officers were not being finalised.