The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) has weighed in on a proposal being hatched by the Gauteng Community Safety Portfolio Committee chairperson, Dr Bandile Masuku, who has proposed that the South African Police Service (SAPS) must rotate police officers and station commanders across police stations to eradicate corruption.
Masuku also revealed that another proposal on the table is the use of body cameras to ensure police transparency in their dealings with civilians.
Masuku indicated that the province is toying with a range of interventions to mitigate the effects of familiarity that breeds corruption in communities.
“There are interventions that we are toying with. The other one is the rotation of police officers across all police stations instead of keeping one set of officers at a single station. That will break the cycle of familiarity between the criminals and the police,” he stated.
On the use of body cameras, Masuku told Newzroom Afrika that there is a big need for body cameras to be given a chance to help curb criminal behaviours among police officers.
“The second intervention, which is up for discussion and debate, is the use of body cameras. This is because the union has been against the use of body cameras and other cameras in vehicles to boost transparency to ensure that every interaction between a police officer and every citizen is recorded,” he said.
However, reacting to this approach, Popcru spokesperson, Richard Mamabolo, indicated that the system comes with a lot of requirements that would be difficult to enforce.
“The rotation system comes with a lot of requirements. Firstly, police officers have to find alternative accommodation, and at the extent to which their economic standing is, this won’t be easy. As it relates to technological advances, it is something we welcome since these body cams will capture adequate evidence.
“Similar with drones that had been projected to fight crime in Gauteng, but with only one now functional, we hope the body cams can be consistent as and when implemented,“ Mamabolo said.
Crime fighting activist, Yusuf Abramjee, indicated that crime and corruption among members of the police have become rampant with a need for decisive action to stop the rot.
Last week, an Independent Investigative Police Directorate (IPID) report revealed that there were a total of 110 rape incidents by police officers nationally, down from cases 122 incidents in the 2022/23 financial year.
The report further alleged that there were 79 corruption cases that were reported nationally, with Gauteng having the highest count at 37 cases. Out of these cases, 33 involved SAPS, and four involved metro police officials.
“It is important for the police to take decisive action against corruption as we know it is rampant and criminal cops are on the prowl. Many station commanders are not being held to account. The move is welcome as we need urgent and decisive action.
“I have reported two station commanders in two different police stations just last week. In one of the stations, many cops have been implicated in crime and corruption,” Abramjee said.