Police-aided escapes double
15 January 1998
PRETORIA -- The number of police charged with aiding escapes from custody had nearly doubled last year, although the total of escapes remained unchanged, national police Commissioner George Fivaz said yesterday.
Comm Fivaz said in a statement that 171 policemen were criminally prosecuted last year on escape related charges -- compared to 91 the previous year.
Departmental prosecutions over the same period increased by more than 30 percent, from 588 to 888. A total of 60 policemen were currently under suspension pending the outcome of investigations into escapes.
Last year, 1,4 million people were detained in police cells, of which 0,3 per cent managed to escape, the same as 1996, Comm Fivaz said.
A study was recently conducted by the police and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Mpumalanga and Gauteng to identify reasons for escapes from police cells, with the majority of escapes attributed to non-compliance with instructions or police negligence, the study found.
Other problems included over-population of cells and poor facilities.
Comm Fivaz said all provincial commissioners recently submitted contingency plans to curb escapes.
He expressed concern about news reports that a suspected thief was released from police custody after she had sex with a policeman.
Ms Lillian Dlamini, 25, was arrested in Hazyview for shoplifting last year. She reportedly told police upon her rearrest this week that she had sex with a police officer in a cell on December 4, and that he subsequently smuggled her out.
Mpumalanga police spokesman Captain Izak van Zyl said the woman failed this week to point out the man in an identity parade.
"The investigation is continuing, but we have no suspect," he said.
Comm Fivaz said that every escape from police custody was the subject of an internal probe.
"If found guilty departmentally or criminally, those members face possible dismissal from the police service," he said. -- Sapa
