By Graeme Hosken
Crime researchers have slammed police management, accusing them of "dragging their feet" in the corruption fight.
The criticism comes as the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) claims that police corruption is rife and a cause for serious concern.
A CSVR report, titled "Benign Neglect? The politics and practice of controlling police corruption in South Africa", is backed up by the Institute of Security Studies (ISS).
Andrew Faull, an ISS researcher, said police management was dragging its feet when it came to curbing corruption. "The police have been working on a corruption and fraud prevention plan for the past six years, but have yet to finalise it.
It should not take them this long to get something this important off the ground," he said.
The ISS and CSVR claims are supported by a SAPS Police Advisory Council (PAC) report.
The PAC was established by embattled Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi to advise him on the state of the police and the country's crime fighting capabilities. The PAC consisted of 15 retired police commissioners who were tasked with among other things, looking into police corruption.
The PAC's report, compiled between November 2006 and October 2007, identified several forms of corruption including immigrants being forced to pay bribes to evade arrest and suspects paying bribes to have cases closed, false withdrawal statements filed, dockets lost and evidence tampered with.
The PAC also accused police officers of demanding money to attend or investigate a complaint; giving taxi-related crime investigations to members whose relatives were involved in the crimes; theft and abuse of government property; bribing of recruiting officers and doctors to recruit applicants who do not conform with enlistment requirements and to declare unfit applicants medically fit; and, burglary while on duty.
Despite police management being in possession of the report they have refused to divulge its contents, findings or recommendations.
Police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said an internal document could not be released. She said task teams were established to work on the various issues the report raised.
While the police has corruption and fraud prevention strategies in place, the PAC noted that no real progress had been made in the implementation of the strategies, no proper data or statistics on corruption were being kept, and no clear plans to deal with corruption at stations existed.
There is also insufficient investigative capacity to investigate cases of corruption, a lack of intelligence on corruption and no effective disciplinary system in place.
The CSVR's David Bruce said an analysis of organised crime showed that police corruption was an important contributor when it came to cash-in-transit heists, drug trafficking and hijackings. He said: "Dysfunctional, retrogressive and crudely implemented policy measures had weakened the response to corruption."
Damning the SAPS Corruption and Fraud Prevention Plan, Bruce said the plan, which was developed after the closure of the police Anti-Corruption Unit in 2002, did not define corruption properly and did not make provision for a dedicated anti-corruption unit to ensure corruption strategies were implemented.
"Instead the responsibility for investigation of 'serious' corruption lies with ad hoc provincially appointed investigative teams and 'other' corruption with station-based detectives.
"This disregards the likelihood that police who investigate corruption with tenacity are likely to face social ostracism from their peers, if not worse.
"The plan states the key to combating corruption and fraud is the effective supervision of SAPS employees, but, supervision is the very aspect of the SAPS which is highly erratic."
He said the SAPS "progress" in tackling corruption over the past decade has been to close an effective anti-corruption unit and spend the following five years developing a problematic anti-corruption plan.
In the Pretoria News, 09 September 2008
CSVR is a multi-disciplinary institute that seeks to understand and prevent violence, heal its effects and build sustainable peace at the community, national and regional levels.
