Policing is about bringing crime suspects to book and to ensure communities feel safe. The police should prevent crime by among others conducting operations that yield results. Therefore police members should not be involved in criminal activities.
Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Pat Ngomane has expressed his disappointment at the number police officers who were recently fingered in several criminal activities, saying that it should come to an end because it is against the essence of policing. He insisted that the minority of corrupt officers compromises the good work that the majority was doing in the fight against crime.
The MEC said that SAPS cannot be turned into haven for criminals but the service should be feared by criminals. “We should not allow criminality in police ranks and that is why we are appealing to SAPS management to thoroughly investigate these few rotten apples and flush them out of the system. Their actions do not only compromise the integrity of SAPS but it also endangers members of the public and the honest police officers,” added Ngomane.
Cases reported against the police so far include a certain Warrant Officer attached to HAWKS Serious Crime Organized Crime Investigation Unit. The suspect is said to have conspired with suspects of Cash in Transit and bank robberies that occurred in 2015 around Hazyview.
In another incident that occurred earlier, six police officers were brought to book for a robbery that happened in Standerton. The officers at the time, the police stated, pretended to be SARS officials and allegedly robbed a supermarket an undisclosed amount of money and fled the scene.
Another officer has appeared in Evander Magistrate Court for soliciting R4000 from a suspect in order to make a docket disappear. The officer was arrested during a sting operation while he was meant to receive half of the amount that he had requested. The matter was reminded to 6 June 2018 for further investigation. MEC Ngomane said that these and other several cases brought against law enforcers should be speedily resolved so that the police are free from unwanted elements that make the police to be at odds with law abiding citizens. He further believes that SAPS should consider reviewing its recruitment and selection processes to make it impossible for “crooks” to find their way into policing.
Meanwhile MEC Ngomane has welcomed the successes recorded during Operation Fiela II that took place in White River yesterday (14 May 2018). ;
According SAPS in the province, 14 undocumented foreign nationals were nabbed and the police also confiscated numerous counterfeit goods. The illicit goods include sanitary pads, shoe polish, skin lighteners and cash. Some of the suspects who were taken in for questioning in yesterday are believed to be key in counterfeit trading activities. The suspects are being charged for contravening the country’s immigration laws as well as manufacturing and/or distribution of counterfeit goods.
It seems as if the warehouses are utilized for some legitimate businesses; however also serve as storage and processing venue for counterfeit goods, which are packaged in local famous brands before being distributed to various points in the province for consumption and use. Furthermore, the MEC has appealed to communities to refrain from buying counterfeit goods saying that they should make use of established outlets.
MEC Ngomane said the police should be commended for the arrest of the suspects since the trading in counterfeit does not only affect the country negatively, but it also has a negative impact on the economy. He added it also places jobs of many locals at risk and therefore perpetrators of such acts should face the full might of the law.
“Those who sell counterfeit goods rob our country of much needed revenue because they are not paying tax like other businesses. The products that they sell are not approved for quality and health purposes, therefore they pose health risks to users,” Ngomane explained. He further called on SAPS to ensure that the allegations against the suspects are thoroughly investigated so that wrong doers do no go unpunished.
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