Cape Town - Anti-crime group Action Society wants amendments to be made to legislation so that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) can operate as an independent chapter nine institution.
The organisation launched the campaign on Wednesday, calling for the public to sign its online petition to get rid of the police minister as a decision-maker.
It wants the legislation governing Ipid's operations, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Act of 2011, to be changed and the Constitution to be amended to provide for Ipid’s status as a chapter nine institution.
The organisation said even though Ipid was a watchdog mandated to investigate misconduct or criminal activity committed by police and municipal police services (MPS), it still answers to the minister of police, with the Ipid Act granting the minister the power to remove the executive director of Ipid from office.
Action Society director of community safety Ian Cameron said the campaign came about after the classification of the report into the killing of Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) commander Charl Kinnear, which was eventually leaked, and also the alleged involvement in the Thabo Bester saga.
“The fact that that the minister was able to classify the report with an independent body that’s meant to guide the process, in terms of how they should be acted to in terms of the release is worrying,” he said.
Late last month, provincial police arrested six of their own members for corruption.
The Maitland Flying Squad members are accused of corrupt activities after they seized boxes of abalone from suspects on numerous occasions without making arrests or handing in the abalone as exhibits.
They are also accused of harbouring a corrupt relationship with criminals by escorting drugs with a police vehicle. Cameron said one of the officers was still under investigation for a Post Office robbery and was released on bail.
“That shows you that Ipid is not doing its job and the police don’t have the internal locus of control to deal with the problem,” he said.
He said without an independent and constitutional Ipid, there was a risk that police misconduct and criminal activities would go unchecked and unpunished. Cameron said this can lead to a breakdown in law and order and the erosion of public confidence in the police and criminal justice system.
“Through our suggested amendments, we will ensure that Ipid can effectively investigate and address misconduct and criminal activity by police officers and protect the public from any potential abuses of power.”
Anti-crime activist Roegshanda Pascoe concurs that Ipid must also be independent of political influence and with power to prosecute in a protective and safe environment.
“Our minister of police cannot be an oversight over himself, it completely makes the work of Ipid a smokescreen,” she said.