Protests usurping police resources

Protests in Gauteng are diverting police resources away from fighting crime, provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Mzwandile Petros said on Monday.

   

The past five weeks had seen 650 protests in the province -- 40 of which had been violent.

   

"Resources that could have been used for crime prevention were used for this," Petros told reporters in Johannesburg.

   

"It's taking more resources we could have used to fight ordinary crime."

   

Petros said this effectively meant there was a violent protest every day for 40 days.

   

In his news briefing he also spoke about the death of a one-year-old baby in Mooiplaas, south of Pretoria, on Sunday.

   

The child was accidentally killed and its mother wounded after being hit by a ricocheted bullet, allegedly fired by police.

   

Police were attempting to stop a crowd assaulting two men accused of stealing when an officer fired a warning shot.

   

The warning shot then ricocheted, hitting the baby and mother.

 

The mother was taken to hospital for treatment, along with two police officers injured while stopping the crowd from assaulting the two men.

   

"This is a story we want Ipid (Independent Police Investigation Directorate) to investigate," Petros said.

   

"From our side we will definitely be assisting Ipid with the investigation."

   

He called on the community to allow the investigation to be completed.

   

"As soon as we have the facts we will be decisive in our actions."

   

Turning to video footage of a policeman taking a bribe and a policewoman performing a sexual act in Boksburg last week, he said action had already been taken.

   

The two officers had been relieved of their weapons and taken off duty pending the outcome of an investigation by Ipid.

   

Petros said a decision on their suspension would be made by close of business on Monday.

   

The video was recorded in a parking lot near the East Rand Mall,  in Boksburg, at 3am on Saturday, Beeld reported over the weekend. A  copy was sent to police on Thursday.

   

According to the newspaper, the 20-minute video shows a Boksburg North police station vehicle drive into the parking lot, followed by a BMW.

   

A uniformed policewoman gets out of the BMW, followed by the driver.

   

The policeman reportedly climbs out of the police vehicle and waits for the driver to withdraw money from a nearby Absa ATM. The man hands bank-notes to the policeman.

   

Beeld reported that the policeman is shown driving out of the parking lot and stopping at the roadside.

   

In the parking lot, the policewoman talks to the motorist, then helps him unzip his trousers and performs a sexual act on him.

   

He then gives her money, after which she runs across the parking lot to the waiting police vehicle.

   

According to the newspaper, the motorist watches them leave, zips up his pants and drives off in the opposite direction.

   

Petros said action would be taken against the man in the video. He also warned motorists there would be a clampdown on people

offering bribes when they were caught driving drunk.

   

"For every police official that is corrupt there is somebody that is corrupting them."

   

He said if a driver was caught drunk driving they could get bail of about R1000, but if they were caught bribing an officer the bail would be forfeited.

   

"The public needs to know that corrupting police is a very serious offence."

   

Petros also addressed the SA Policing Union's demand for an apology from him for purported sexist remarks.

   

On Friday Sapu general-secretary Oscar Skommere said: "To say women have themselves to blame for not being promoted because they are concentrating on their husbands and children is the worst insult to women in a democratic dispensation."

   

Skommere claimed Petros made the comment this week while briefing the media on the appointment of 14 station commanders.

 

Eight of the commanders were promoted to the rank of colonel and the other six to that of brigadier.

   

Petros denied making these comments.

 

"There's no way that I could have said that."

 

He said he also found it strange that media houses did not pick up on it if he made these comments.

   

"It would have been a very juicy story," he said.

   

"If there's a lecture to be given to the provincial commissioner  [on racism and sexism] it should be based on actual facts."

 

-Sapa