Paying a price for errant cops

TODAY we report on how the police in the Eastern Cape had to fork out R73.2-million to settle claims and lawsuits between 2016 and 2018.

Their transgressions ranged from cases of brutality and unlawful arrest of innocent people to the wrongful shooting of people without a just cause. Some of the settled cases relate to claims against the police for causing car accidents and for defamation of character. This was revealed by transport, safety and liaison MEC Weziwe Tikana to the Bhisho legislature.

The police department – that is, the taxpayer – has had to fork out R34.2-million in the 2016-17 financial year for their illegal actions and another R39-million in 2017-18.

But this amount covers only the 1150 cases that have been settled. There are still more than 6 500 cases pending.

Also shocking is the fact that 5 105 of the 15 456 police officers in the Eastern Cape failed to complete their firearm competency tests between 2015 and this year.

This means one third of our operational police officers may not be competent to use the guns they are carrying.

In recent times, we have reported allegations of police heavy-handedness during service delivery protests.

Earlier this year a community member was shot dead in Keiskammahoek during a protest.

It is understandable that at times mistakes happen – and, in the main, most of our men and women in blue are breaking their backs in the fight against crime.

But R73-million is a lot of money for a police force that is lacking in resources.

Basically, this is money wasted which could have gone towards beefing up police resources in the bigger fight against crime.

Many bulletproof vests could have been bought and police vans acquired for that amount. We still have helpless communities that are being suffocated by criminals – with very little police visibility, if at all.

A police station could have been built in one of the rural towns without one.

The money could even have gone towards the protection of police stations through the installation of CCTV cameras.

The massacre of five policemen in Ngcobo in January demonstrated just how vulnerable the police have become.

So police management in the province has to make sure that it places more emphasis on providing adequate training for our police – otherwise we, as taxpayers, will continue to see our millions going down the drain. At a basic level, the police ought to understand that they are there to maintain law and order – fight criminals and protect communities, and not the other way around.

Because there is a lot of money involved, perhaps Tikana should not just tell us how much taxpayers have paid to settle claims, but also say what disciplinary action, if any, was taken against those police members who behaved badly.

There is already a trust deficit between communities and the police.

Therefore the police should be working on improving the relationship they have with communities and ensuring that those who bring the service into disrepute face the consequences.