‘Root out bad eggs in SAPS’

The only way to deal with South Africa’s crime effectively would be to first root out criminal elements within the South African Police Service, say opposition parties.

“Police corruption is the major contributor to crime in South Africa,” African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe told The Citizen yesterday.

“Criminals know they will buy their way out when they are caught.”

He said both “corrupt police and criminals” should be dealt with mercilessly.

“The government is too soft on crime. Police are also soft on crime because they know they are involved. They are lame ducks,” he stated.

Freedom Front Plus safety and security spokesman Pieter Groenewald said in order to successfully combat crime, only the “correct people” should be employed as policemen.

“You cannot fight crime effectively while there’s crime and corruption in the police,” he said. An increase, he argued, in the salaries of police officers would not translate into a decrease in the corrupt activities of law officers.

“Corruption is a matter of integrity,” he said. Groenewald called for a stricter recruitment system.

Democratic Alliance safety and security spokesman Dianne Kohler-Barnard lamented the disbanding of the Scorpions, saying the elite unit had proven effective in rooting out corruption within the SAPS.

“The Independent Complaints Directorate investigates claims of abuse of civilians by SAPS members, but does not actively follow up the sort of case that has National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi languishing at home on full pay for over a year.”