Want to jump the queue at the police station? Certified document scam uncovered

Three civilians and two police officers have been arrested in the Eastern Cape for running a certified documents scheme.

The five face charges of corruption, fraud and uttering.

An intelligence-led operation found an Administrative Clerk was allegedly working with the civilians to fleece those who had come to a Mthatha police station to certify documents.

“The civilians will solicit money from desperate members of the public by approaching them to certify their documents without standing in the queue.

“The documents will be then taken to the Administrative Clerk for certification, and the member of the public should pay an undisclosed amount of cash,” police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa explained.

ALSO READ: ‘Do not pay to jump the queue,’ says Post Office

Service is free

Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene said corruption would not be tolerated.

“The South African Police Service is serious about rooting out corruption, including among its ranks.

“We want to ensure the public that all the services in our organization are free, including the certifying of documents and are accessible to anyone,” she added.

ALSO READ: CPW’s not authorised to certify documents 

What you need to know about certifying your documents

According to police:

• You can have copies of original documents certified at any police station, at any time.
• The certification of copies is done free of charge.
• You must provide your own copies. The police station’s resources such as photocopy machines and paper, are not for use by the public.
• You must provide the original documents when requesting to have copies certified. Copies will not be certified if the original documents are not produced for verification.
• Please be patient. Remember that the police station has certain priorities to deal with, and it might take a while before they can attend to you.

Where else can you get your documents certified?

• Lawyers or notary public (who are members of a recognised professional body)
• Actuaries or accountants (who are members of a recognised professional body)
• Members of the judiciary 
• Directors, managers or company secretaries of a bank or regulated financial services business.