Johannesburg - A Gauteng police officer caught on video attending to personal issues and not attending to complainants will face disciplinary action, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula confirmed on Wednesday.
The constable, based at the Sandton Police Station, was caught on video sorting out issues with her DStv account while members of the public look on for several minutes.
She seems unperturbed that her conversation was being recorded or that complainants needed attending to. She can be heard discussing two accounts, telling operators her account was giving her problems.
"Ya, to be reconnected because it's giving me problems. You are charging me and it's off.
"No they didn't reverse it, if they say I owe Multichoice R69 then they didn't reverse it," she can be heard saying, eliciting disbelief and laughter from the complainant.
A Lady went to report crime only to be told "sorry i can’t help You, I need to sort out my dstv first, come tomorrow" SAPS is fighting crime pic.twitter.com/gqyPIyErvv
— IG @AdvBarryRoux (@AdvBarryRoux) October 3, 2017
Mbalula has since reacted to this, confirming that disciplinary action will be taken against the officer.
He also said the incident sparked the launch of the #MyPoliceStation campaign, which encouraged South Africans to report service delivery complaints.
"This campaign has been motivated by many cases reported to me, in particular the case of Constable LC Phaswane of Sandton police station, who used state resources to deal with her personal issues while ignoring our people who came for service.
"I can confirm that disciplinary processes have been initiated and this must serve as a warning to other rotten potatoes. We will not tolerate rogue elements within our ranks, we must name and shame them. This campaign will go a long way to strengthen partnership between Police and our people," Mbalula said.
Using #myPoliceStation please report to me on my TL or DMs about fresh service delivery issues at your police station
RETWEET pic.twitter.com/h8dK0xaaLO
— RSA Police Minister (@MbalulaFikile) October 4, 2017
Mbalula added that he had also instructed all South African Police Services (SAPS) generals in the various provinces to respond to these complaints and take them seriously.
He also warned people to not use this campaign to report old cases, or hoax cases.
"People must report genuine cases, as scarce resources will be used to resolve these complaints, therefore people must not abuse this campaign by reporting false or hoax cases," he said.
Mbalula stressed that the campaign does not replace a police station, but allows the public to inform him about service delivery failures at a specific police station.