Police ministry pays millions in civil claims
12 April 2014 11:42
The police ministry has paid millions of rands for
various cases of improper police conduct.
The Saturday Star reported that more than R200
million was paid for civil claims during the 2012/2013 financial year,
including cases of police brutality.
It cited several court cases, including one where a
29-year-old Cape Town woman was awarded nearly R2m in damages yesterday.
The woman was raped by an off-duty policeman who
offered her a lift 15 years ago. She was awarded R250 000 for damages and
R1.76m for loss of earnings by the Western Cape High Court.
Gareth Newham, head of crime and justice at the
Institute for Security Studies, said the huge increase in the number of civil
claims against police showed there was a problem with accountability.
- Sapa
