Police morale affected by politics

“POLITICAL bickering” between police leaders and politicians has the potential to leave police officers thinking the only way to climb the ranks is to align with a specific political party, says the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).

Speaking on Monday about a spike in police killings in the province, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said police had “no support in the province from leadership”.

Community Safety MEC Dan Plato then hit back saying it was “utterly disgusting and totally inappropriate” that Mthethwa “would use the death of police officers for electioneering purposes”.

The heated words from them comes after a number of similar exchanges and allegations between politicians and police in the province.

Gareth Newham, the head of the ISS’s Crime and Justice Programme, said while it was difficult to gauge exactly how the exchanges between police and politicians immediately affected police operations, it was unlikely to have an effect at station level.

“It contributes over time to possibly politicising the police services,” he said.

Newham explained that for a while some police officers felt that being honest and hardworking was no longer relevant as getting in the good books of politicians was more beneficial to their careers.

“This particular kind of fighting, especially politicians blaming each other... it’ll reinforce the sense it’s more about where your political loyalties lie,” he said.

Other incidents and exchanges have occurred as follows:

Community Safety MEC Dan Plato put together a dossier on conversations he said he had with businessman Jeffrey Franciscus, killed in a car accident in 2011, including a letter which claimed Franciscus would be killed if he spoke out about top politicians.

Names of police officers and gang bosses were included in Plato’s document and alleged political plots were outlined.

It said Franciscus donated at least R2.4 million, mostly in cash, to the Western Cape ANC.

Approached for comment in March last year, Marius Fransman, the deputy minister of international relations and cooperation and head of the ANC in the Western Cape, had denied that the ANC received money from Franciscus and said Franciscus “concocted” the story.

Earlier this year Plato handed over affidavits containing allegations against Fransman, ANC MPL Max Ozinsky, top policeman Jeremy Vearey and other police officers to the public protector.

On July 10 Plato held a press conference and released police-to-population ratio statistics that he said he got from provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer’s office.

Lamoer denied this at first and said Plato was lying.

The next day Plato provided proof he got the statistics from Lamoer’s office.

On July 16 the police ministry accused Plato of “pure grandstanding” and trying to embarrass police in the province.

Last week mayco member for safety and security JP Smith accused police leaders and the national government of doing “everything in their power to prevent the Western Cape from winning the battle against gangs”.

On July 26 the ANC in the province lodged a criminal complaint against Plato.

On Monday Mthethwa warned Plato that criticising police is opening them up to attacks.

Plato then accused Mthethwa of using “the death of police officers for electioneering purposes” and said: “While people are being killed the national minister of police is playing politics.”

On Tuesday Director of Public Prosecutions Rodney de Kock dismissed the allegations that Plato forwarded, saying the person behind the allegations “lacked credibility”. Fransman then called for Plato to be axed.

Plato said he had a duty to report matters brought to him.

On Wednesday Vearey said the allegations forwarded by Plato were made by “coached” witnesses.