More woes for Mampondo

The Randfontein Traffic Department has come under fire once again.

This time, from within its own ranks, with traffic officers claiming that they do not have the needed skills and tools of trade to effectively do their jobs.

According to one traffic officer who wishes not to be named for obvious reasons, traffic officers do not have the basic necessities that they need in order to do their jobs, which places them in incredibly difficult circumstances while dealing with offenders and the general public.

“The basic stuff like rain coats, reflector jackets and torches make our lives difficult, but we can still endure if need be without these.

“What we cannot do without though are things like handcuffs. How am I supposed to arrest someone without handcuffs?

“I cannot place someone under arrest and then place them in my car to transport them to the police station if I cannot restrain them.

“This is dangerous. Some people we have to arrest are drunk and can become violent. Having an unrestrained person in the backseat is simply not on.”

The officer is also concerned that traffic officers in Randfontein are not adequately trained to deal with the kind of scenario’s in which law enforcement officers in Randfontein regularly find themselves.

“Some of our officers have not received firearms training since 2003.

“We have officers patrolling the streets with firearms, yet they have never received firearms training.

“This makes for a very dangerous situation.”

The officer also claims that, despite the fact that traffic officers regularly have to chase down offenders, they have not received any training in advanced driving.

“What happens if one of our officers get involved in an accident while chasing a suspect?

“We have no more driver training than the average person and we are not equipped to deal with such situation, yet we are expected to carry out these tasks.”

The officers allegedly have had numerous discussions about these issues with the management of the Randfontein Traffic Department, but without any success.

The Herald has tried for the past two weeks to get comment from Randfontein Traffic Chief Kenny Mampondo about this matter, but without success.