It follows an incident on Sunday when a police sergeant was among three suspected armed robbers who were shot and killed in a shoot-out with police.

 

David Bruce of the ISS said the institute recommends establishing a well-resourced national police anti-corruption unit and appointing dedicated disciplinary officials to address this problem.

“Police corruption is a major factor that undermines public trust in the police. This reduces public co-operation with the police, which is critical to the effectiveness of the police. If people don’t believe that South African Police Service (SAPS) members consistently uphold high standards of integrity they will be afraid to provide information to the police.

In December, the former Minister of police Peggy Guinea revealed that almost 4000 police officers were still employed by the SAPS, despite having been arrested.  

“The SAPS instructions are only that if a police Officer is convicted of a criminal offense, they automatically dismissed but the procedures aren't properly implemented. "There's no single body that carries responsibility for addressing police corruption in SA,” said Bruce.

He says there is a need for a more decisive response to police corruption. Another group that it has a very negative impact on are the honest members of the service and it contaminates the relationships between members of the public and all members of this SAPS. It undermines members of SAPS who get the job done.

ISS has put forward a set of eleven recommendations on for type of strategic program for overall strengthening policing in South Africa and it's hoping that they are taken seriously.

-ChannelAfrica--