Gauteng top cop declares war on graft

Corrupt police officers will be hunted down and dealt with mercilessly, acting Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Joel Mothiba said on Friday.

 

Following the release of Gauteng's 2012/13 crime statistics by premier Nomvula Mokonyane in Johannesburg on Friday, Mothiba pledged to root out corrupt officers.

 

"We are concerned about the SAPS (SA Police Service) members as well as metro police members that are involved in crimes and corruption," he said.

 

"They (corrupt officers) undermine the good work being done by law enforcement officials."

 

He pledged to take stern action against his corrupt subordinates.

 

"Government has declared zero-tolerance on corruption and we will lead and deal with all corrupt, criminal elements in our midst mercilessly," said Mothiba.

 

"We will hunt them down. An appeal is being made to members of the community to stop offering bribes to our members. It takes two to tango. If communities stop corrupting our members there will be less corruption."

 

Earlier, Mokonyane expressed concern over the rising trend of police officers involved in graft.

 

"A worrisome statistic shows that 18 out of 50 provincial policing precincts were reported as crime-infested dens that recorded police collusion and outright corruption," she said.

 

"The Johannesburg central police precinct tops the list with approximately 13,000 criminal cases that were perpetrated by officers in uniform."

 

In the 2012/13 Gauteng crime statistics, Mokonyane revealed that vehicle hijackings in Gauteng increased two percent in the past financial year.

 

She said the country's most populous province had intensified efforts to counter the hijackings.

 

Increases were recorded in stock theft, up by 5.1 percent. Robberies at residential premises increased by 3.6 percent.

 

Mokonyane said robberies at business premises, murder, and motor vehicle theft had diminished in the province. Sexual offences declined by 10 percent.

 

She remained upbeat that crime was under control in Gauteng.

 

"What is heartening is that the apprehension of [corrupt officers] was not done by a nurse, a doctor, or a journalist. It was done by members of the SA Police Service and other law enforcement agents.

 

"We still have the confidence, as the provincial government, in the capacity of the police to fight crime."

 

A bleak picture about crime in the country emerged when Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa released the national crime statistics in Pretoria on Thursday.

 

The national figures indicate that serious crime such as murder, burglary, aggravated robbery, and hijackings are on the rise.

 

-Sapa