EMPD denies DA’s statement on non-performance

This is according to DA member of Community Oversight Portfolio committee, Samantha Nair.

“Firstly, the targets set for fines collection is way below budget and this is unacceptable, as it has a negative impact on the metro as a whole.

“The fines income for 2013/14 is only R167 705, whereas the budget was set on R185 694. The collection variance is, thus, 10.41 percent below budget.

“One of the priorities of the Metro Police after all is law enforcement.”

Nair adds that the poor performance of the department shows that traffic laws are not being enforced.

“The targets set for law enforcement are so low and this is the reason we see so many fatal accidents on the roads of Ekurhuleni. When we look at the data for 2013/14, only 341 accidents were recorded, and 567 by-law infringements received attention.

“When one looks at the serious traffic transgressions most common in Ekurhuleni are drunken driving, seatbelt violations, unlicensed drivers, traffic light violations, overloading and public transport violations, which shows that the EMPD are not serious about law enforcement.

“Furthermore the department has only two approvals for South Gauteng and North Gauteng for law enforcement by means of cameras.

“The certificates need to be renewed on a yearly basis, but due to the department’s bad planning, these certificates were never renewed.

“Due to the above, the department’s income for 2013/14 has been affected in a very negative way and this has influenced service delivery in a very big way.

“The committee of the DA in Ekurhuleni would like to see the department set more aggressive targets so that road safety can be improved in our metro.”

According to EMPD spokesperson, Wilfred Kgasago, it is irresponsible and misleading to assume the state of law enforcement is of a poor standard, especially if its basis is on targets set for fines collection as the EMPD is not a profit-generating organisation.

“This organisation’s bottom line is service delivery in the form of endeavouring at all times, to create a safer city for its citizens and visitors, not forgetting that since we became a metro, our mandate has expansively broadened to include crime prevention and by-law enforcement over and above traffic policing.

“An annual budget related to income generated via traffic fines is set by the Finance Department utilising their ‘own’ criteria, and is upped annually based on those criteria within the Finance Department, not in accordance with the actuals versus fines issued by EMPD.

“Furthermore, the funds from traffic fines do not end up in some kitty belonging to EMPD; it goes into a general pool of municipality funds.

“A traffic fine is a notice issued by an officer ‘alleging’ that a person has committed an offence. In South African context, all offenders are considered innocent until ‘proven’ guilty in a court of law.

“There is, therefore, no rule or prescription that a person can be forced to pay his/her fine at all. It just stays an allegation.

“EMPD considers all ‘guilty’ findings on notices issued as successful and not only those that are paid. This implies that even when a person appears in a court of law, and is found guilty, but sentenced to a suspended sentence, or even to no fine amount, it still counts as success.

“The only method which somewhat guarantees payment of a fine is if a person fails to pay and does not contest the fine in court. A warrant of arrest is then authorised by a magistrate for contempt of court.

“After arresting the offender, we hope they would pay the contempt of court fine as well as the initial fine amount (and receive a criminal record). But we still cannot force them to pay the fine.

“They can elect to be heard in court of law and the matter is now solely reliant on a magistrate who may either set them free, strike the fine off the roll or let both the fine and the contempt of court stand.

“I would suggest that the most recent (or even earlier ones) quarterly performance document of EMPD be perused to clearly grasp the service delivery rendered according to its mandate.”