Minister doesn't know how many cops have been convicted in the last year
23 July 2014
The Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko, needs to make clear his reasons for not making public the record of South African Police Service (SAPS) personnel who have been convicted of criminal offences in the last year.
This morning a reply to a DA parliamentary question has revealed that the Minister does not have readily available the number of SAPS personnel who have been convicted of criminal offences in the last year. Furthermore, that he has asked for more time to make public these details "due to the long drawn out process of concluding the criminal matters in court."
This is a bizarre response from the Minister given that these SAPS personnel have already been convicted which should mark the end of court proceedings.
If this information is not readily available, then it most likely means this problem is not being properly monitored and managed by the Minister or the National Police Commissioner.
I will re-submit the parliamentary question again to provide the Minister with an opportunity to provide the full details. I will also ask as to what processes currently exist to monitor criminality in the SAPS, and if none exists, what is the Minister's plan to correct this anomaly.
A reply to another DA parliamentary question, received yesterday, revealed just how bad the situation is currently.
Of the 1448 police who have been convicted for crimes, 54 were for murder, 116 for attempted murder, and 37 for rape. All in all, there were 3204 offences committed. The question we ask is: why aren't they behind bars?
The DA looks forward to receiving all the outstanding details on this matter so that criminality within the SAPS can be tackled, once and for all.
We must not let a group of criminal cops ruin the reputation of so many hard working police men and women.
Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, DA Shadow Minister of Police, July 23 2014
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