TMPD: Many metro cops face graft probes

Multiple Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) officers are being investigated following many complaints over the past few months on social media of corruption, bribery and extortion.

Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink confirmed that two TMPD officers were detained by the Joburg Metro Police Department over the weekend in Diepsloot in Johannesburg for operating outside their assigned area using a private vehicle.

Investigation

Brink said in addition to this, the TMPD integrity unit was investigating seven other officers for using illegal breathalysers in two separate incidents over the long weekend.

“Five officers were also found to be operating outside of their assigned area where a member of the public was later found to have allegedly been extorted and robbed. A criminal investigation has since been launched,” he said.

Two other TMPD members were found using an unofficial breathalyser on a member of the public on the N1 South near Lynnwood Road.

Brink reminded motorists to request the officers to present their appointment cards and added they were entitled to record the interaction with the officer.

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Public trust eroded

Louise Edwards, African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum director of programmes and research, said incidents like these had the potential to further erode public trust in policing services at a time when the confidence in the police was already in question. “Ensuring that independent police oversight mechanisms work is key to restoring that trust.

When the police acted illegally or abused their powers, prompt, independent and effective investigations that lead to sanctions will underscore the seriousness of the violations and the will of the state to respond,” she said.

Edwards said research has indicated the lack of effective discipline mechanisms within policing services contributed to impunity in SA policing.

Rural criminologist at the University of Limpopo, Professor Witness Maluleka, said traffic policing corruption affected all nine provinces.

“Few cases of traffic police corruption are reported, as the public remain active accomplices,” he said. Maluleka said body cameras, anti-fraud technology and intelligence- and evidence-led policing could address the current scourge.

Head of the department of criminology at the University of Limpopo, Professor Jaco Barkhuizen, said the fact that so many metro police were accused of corrupt actions showed how deeply rotten the agency is.

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