Thousands of ‘tsotsi cops’ not dismissed
Thousands
of police officers have been criminally convicted but not dismissed from the SA
Police Service, Parliament’s portfolio committee on police has heard.
The
Institute of Security Studies’ governance, crime and justice division head
Gareth Newham told the committee that South Africa could not rely on the
criminal justice system to deal with the problem of “tsotsi cops”.
“There
is evidence that the SAPS disciplinary system allows criminally violent
officers to remain within the SAPS,” Newham said.
He cited
the example of Warrant Officer Petrus Lefoka from Vaalwater, Limpopo, who was
criminally convicted for severely assaulting a teenager and handed a suspended
sentence of two months imprisonment, with the option of a R2 000 fine,
suspended for five years.
Newham
said an SAPS internal police disciplinary hearing fined Lefoka R500 and that he
remains a cop despite a criminal conviction for brutality.
He said
he was also concerned by the high number (792) of suspended dismissals.
Newham
has suggested the establishment of a multi-disciplinary national police board
to set objective standards for appointing and promoting police officers.
According
to Newham, all police officers must be assessed against set criteria and should
they fail to meet the standards they must be removed from positions of
authority.
He said
this should also apply to “starting at the top of the SAPS”.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa
defended police earlier, saying the majority of cops were dedicated to their
jobs.
