132 civilian claims against Gauteng SAPS estimated to be R180m

About 132 civilian claims have been launched against members of the South African Police Service in Gauteng since the inception of the national lockdown.

The monetary value of all these claims was estimated to be R180 million. This was revealed by Gauteng community safety MEC Faith Mazibuko during the provincial legislature’s virtual sitting, on Tuesday. According to Mazibuko, of the 132 claims, 79 were being processed, 44 were under investigation and only nine claims finalised.

These civilian claims were made during the national lockdown period, however, not all of them were related to the national lockdown. SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said that all the SAPS members knew the code of conduct and were expected to comply with it.

She said the process and penalty of the members found guilty of misconduct differed depending on the misconduct.

“I can confirm that the SAPS has a zero-tolerance approach to ill-discipline, crime and corruption by members. All members of the service are expected to abide by the SAPS code of conduct which each member, upon receipt must acknowledge, read, understand and implement after signing to confirm knowledge of its existence.”

DA MP Michael Shackleton said it was “worrying” that some members of the SAPS in the province were failing to abide by the SAPS code of conduct.

“They are failing to respect the rights of our people while they are conducting their duties. The money that will be paid for these civilian claims could be used to ensure that our police stations are equipped with all the necessary resources needed for effective crime prevention.”

This article first appeared on Pretoria Rekord North and has been republished with permission.

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