Police identification questioned
'Not having a name tag raises suspicion of a bogus cop, it is compulsory' — station commander.
A resident recently questioned police’s ability to identify themselves.
The Herald approached Colonel Selvan Moonsammy, Station Commander for the Westonaria Police who explained the dos and don’t’s when police are required to identify themselves to the public.
“In terms of the South African Police Service (SAPS) dress code, it is compulsory for officers to have identification. If they do not have their name tags with them, they have to find a means to identify themselves like write their names of a piece of paper and pin it on their uniform.”
Colonel Moonsammy continued, “The other way a police officer can identify themselves is through showing their appointment certificate.”
The appointment certificate is a card no bigger than a credit card and has the officer’s picture on the front side and the officer’s details on the backside. The certificate, Colonel Moonsammy says, is compulsory to have on the officer’s person.
“Whenever we report, we have inspection. We check to see if the officer’s dress code meets the police standard.”
Colonel Moonsammy admitted but of course the heroes in blue are human.
“There are some cases where police officers do not have their name tags on their person. When the weather is hot and cold, it could be that they put their name tags on their jacket and have taken their jacket off. They could also fall victim to a robbery and the name tag could be stolen. These things also wear and it does take a while for it to be replaced.”
The question of police identification brought about another question; how to tell the difference between a real police officer and an impostor.
Colonel Moonsammy explains that it would be difficult for somebody who is not police to tell the difference but says it would be rather suspicious if an officer does not have both a name tag or an appointment certificate on their person.
Should residents find themselves in this situation and they are not sure if the officer they are dealing with is an actual police officer, they should call their local police station to assist them.
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