Complaints against the police continue to come in on a hotline set up to stamp out police corruption, MEC Dan Plato said.
|||Cape Town - Complaints against the police, including some local metro police officers, continue to come in on a hotline set up by the Western Cape government to stamp out police corruption, says Community Safety MEC Dan Plato.
Plato launched the “Report a cop, reward a cop” hotline in 2012 to encourage people to report police corruption or good work via SMS, Twitter, telephone or e-mail.
On Monday, Plato’s spokesman, Greg Wagner, said 295 calls were logged between January and April, and that only 11 of these were complimentary.
During the first quarter, January to March, Mitchells Plain police station had the highest number of complaints (12), followed by Cape Town central (eight), Delft (seven) and Elsies River and Milnerton (six each).
“Complaints range from not taking a statement to physical abuse and the abuse of state vehicles and resources.
“The most common type of complaint was for unacceptable behaviour. This refers to complaints of misconduct in terms of Regulation 20 of the SA Police Service Discipline Regulations,” said Wagner.
Offences under Regulation 20 include, among others:
* Endangering the life of anyone by disregarding safety rules or regulations.
* Prejudicing the administration, discipline or efficiency of a department, office or institution of the state.
* Misusing position to promote or to prejudice the interest of any political party.
* Accepting any compensation in cash or otherwise from a member of the public or another employee for performing her or his duties without written approval from the employer.
* Taking absence without leave.
* Unfairly discriminating against others on the basis of race, gender, disability or sexuality.
Of the 295 calls reported to the Community Safety Department between January and April, 168 were forwarded to the police, seven to the metro police and one to the traffic department for further investigation.
“I am pleased to see the public making more use of our police accountability services,” Plato said. “With the public’s help we can ensure the police deliver the service that they deserve.”
In November and December, the hotline received 147 complaints about problems ranging from poor response times to unwillingness to help.
Measures proposed in the Western Cape Community Safety Act, such as the introduction of an ombudsman, were part of attempts by the province to resolve these complaints.
The act became law in March, but Wagner said it would still be a few months before Premier Helen Zille appointed an ombudsman.
Wagner said complaints were collated by the provincial Department of Community Safety and sent to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate or provincial police commissioner for investigation.
* People can report police misconduct or good work by SMSing the word “reward” or “report” to 35395 or by calling the 24-hour hotline 021 483 4332. Faxes can be sent to the Department of Community Safety at 021 483 6026.
Reports can be e-mailed to policing-complaints@pgwc.gov.za or by Tweet to @RewardaCop.
clayton.barnes@inl.co.za
Cape Argus