Professionalising SAPS is the only way to root out corruption

8 August 2019

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is not shocked to learn that seven police officers have been arrested for corruption and defeating the ends of justice following the Johannesburg CBD raid on counterfeit goods.

It is alleged that these police officers were caught attempting to resell the confiscated goods back to the illegal traders. Some of these police officers were arrested for allegedly leaking information on the planned raid to those selling counterfeit goods.

This is a clear indication that in SAPS there is a rotten group perhaps operating in a syndicate and that there is an urgent need to root out corruption within SAPS.

These police officers have failed to abide by the oath of office that they took when they joined the SAPS, therefore giving all other police officers a bad image.

It is shameful that people who are entrusted by residents to prevent crime are also committing crime themselves.

For far too long, the DA has been calling on the government to consider professionalising the police service in order to ensure honest and professional policing. This can be done by removing rotten police officers from the SAPS, rewarding exceptional service and enforcing rules as well as enforcing extensive sentences for any police officer caught on the wrong side of the law.

This incident is one of many that involve police officers and it's high time that the government acts against corrupt officers.

We will monitor the investigations into these cases to ensure that these rotten police officers face the might of the law.

The DA will also continue putting pressure on government to professionalise the police service in order to root out corruption in SAPS.

The DA will completely overhaul SAPS, curbing corruption, hiring people with a passion for policing and retraining police officers to make the police force honest, professional and one that serves and protects South Africans.

The DA has a plan to make our police service honest, professional and effective in fighting crime. We will focus on:

- Fighting corruption within the police;

- Retraining police officers to serve and protect with pride;

- Hiring people with a passion for policing;

- Instituting an effective drug-busting force within the South African Police Service; and

- Ensuring that law and order is maintained in our communities, and that there are effective arrests, prosecutions and convictions of criminals.

Issued by Solly Msimanga, DA Gauteng Caucus Leader, 8 August 2019