Pretoria - Motorists, who are pulled over by Tshwane Metro Department officers, have been given the go-ahead to ask for their appointment certificates, take their photos and vehicle number plates in a bid to curb corruption within the law-enforcement authority.
This was in line with a directive issued by acting chief of the Tshwane Metro Police Department, Basil Nkwashu, who believed active roles by the public in recording possible acts of corruption by the metro police would assist in stamping out graft in the department.
Nkwashu’s stance came in light of a series of allegations of corruption made against some metro police officers implicated in bribery, armed robberies and assaulting motorists.
Recently, the Pretoria News reported that the department was found wanting after it surfaced that it employed more than 200 officers with criminal records during the first phase of insourcing of security guards in 2020.
The implicated metro officers were in trouble with the law for crimes ranging from bribery to extortion, assault and armed robbery. At least 49 of them were in hot water because of serious charges emanating from previous criminal convictions.
There has been an ongoing public outcry about metro police officers who harass motorists on the roads.
Last year, some TMPD members were implicated in soliciting a R12 000 “spot fine” from a Centurion couple to let them off the hook after they were pulled over. The couple, Yolande and Neels Groenewald, approached AfriForum for assistance after they were traumatised by the incident.
They were driving back home from a late-night school function in Pretoria with their son, 14, when they were pulled over on the R21 off-ramp by a group of officers in August.
MMC for Community Safety, Grandi Theunissen, expressed support for the directive issued by Nkhwashu.
“It seeks to always make our officers aware of the importance of high ethical conduct, being fair and respecting the rights of others.”
In terms of the directive, the public is encouraged to ask officers for their appointment certificates (a card identifying them as a police officer), he said.
“You have the right to record your encounter with officials. This includes videos and pictures of the officers, their appointment certificates, and their vehicles. Considering the number of complaints the City has been receiving with regard to extortion, corruption, and other cases of misconduct by our officers, this directive was long overdue.”
Victims of corruption or crime by Metro police officers are encouraged to open a criminal case at a police station; report such incidents to the TMPD’s Integrity Unit at 083 657 2998 or report the matter to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate via [email protected].
Pretoria News