Johannesburg - Corruption, robbery, housebreaking, theft, attempted murder, kidnapping, hijacking and possession of stolen motor vehicles. These are some of the crimes for which 66 Gauteng police officers have been dismissed.
Among them are 41 constables, 12 warrant officers and five sergeants. They were dismissed between April and last month, police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said.
The officers were fired because the SAPS wanted to professionalise the police service by dealing harshly with corruption and any officers involved in criminal acts.
Dlamini said that despite the large number of arrests, it was better to have quality SAPS members who delivered efficient service rather than retain officers who were a burden to the community.
“Forty-two of these officers were dismissed for being involved in criminal acts including corruption, robbery, theft, attempted murder, housebreaking and theft, kidnapping, hijacking and possession of stolen motor vehicles.
“As bad elements are a burden to the police and the community, police will continue to deal effectively with corrupt and criminal elements in the service,” Dlamini said.
“Out of the total dismissals, 17 officers were involved in corruption, six in robberies and others for serious crimes, including aiding prisoners to escape and rape.”
He said 10 of them were dismissed for misconduct such as absenteeism, insubordination and defeating the ends of justice. Eight of the dismissals also involved civilians.
Dlamini could not provide statistics of how many of those who were fired were men or women and at which police stations they had been based.
He could also not elaborate further on the details of the respective crimes.
“Specifics are not available and some have their criminal proceedings still pending in the courts,” he said.
Dlamini said disciplinary proceedings were unnecessary.
“Once there is evidence against a member and they are found guilty in a departmental trial, then a decision is taken on whether to dismiss the member.”
He urged communities to report errant police officers in order to ensure the public received efficient and professional service.
The Star