Commander of the SAPS Ekurhuleni Central Cluster Maj-Gen Poobalan Subbiah, said false cases are very common and emphasised how they waste police resources.
“After a case is opened, it takes a few days for forensic evidence to be processed and only then does it come out that the information supplied was false and the process up to that point was for naught,” Subbiah said.
“Instead, the police’s resources should be used more effectively to better society.”
Brig Johan Jacobs, Benoni Police Station commander, said: “It really is a big problem for us.”
False cases are often opened at the Benoni Police Station and are mostly related to motor vehicles.
Capt Nomsa Sekele, Benoni SAPS spokesperson, said people often open false hijacking cases at the station.
“Our detectives work so hard, they leave no stone unturned,” she said.
“It wastes our time and resources as police.”
Conversely, cases of perjury are not rife at the other police stations.
Daveyton Police Station spokesperson Capt Mesh Makole found records of only one false case opened at the station this year.
“The complainant said their car was stolen, but it turned out they weren’t the vehicle’s owner,” Makole said of the incident, which occurred in September.
“People will always play innocent when it comes to these matters, but they have to be careful and report to us truthfully.”
According to Tryna Maritz, acting communications officer at the Crystal Park SAPS, false cases are “very rarely” opened at the station.
“We don’t have a problem with that here: the most recent case was a false hijacking earlier in September and the previous incident to that, another false hijacking case, was opened in December 2014,” Maritz said.
Capt Ramothakhi Maqabe, Actonville SAPS spokesperson, said although false cases are opened at the station “from time to time”, it is not a common problem in the suburb.
Sekele appealed to the public not to open false cases.
“We warn people not to report false information, as we will catch them and perjury is a criminal offence,” he added.
Putfontein Police Station had not commented at the time of going to print.
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