Criminals among SAPS top brass

MOST SAPS members with criminal records are top brass and in management, including a major-general and at least 10 brigadiers.

Among the serious offences they committed are murder, attempted murder, culpable homicide, rape and attempted rape.

This disclosure left MPs shocked yesterday, when SAPS Human Resources officials briefed Parliament’s police oversight committee on the outcome of its criminal audit.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa last month revealed that the audit had established that 1 448 members had criminal records. The figure is down from an initial 9 000 reported earlier this year.

Their crimes include assault, aiding an escapee, theft, housebreaking, drug trafficking, kidnapping, robbery, malicious damage to property and domestic violence.

Nkayishane Mazibuko, the police’s head of personnel management, told the committee that 306 police officers were convicted prior to appointment. The rest were convicted while in the employment of the SAPS.

Mazibuko said some had gone as far as using false fingerprints to slip through the cracks and bypass the system.

“This emanated from a draft response from a question that came from the committee about how many members have criminal records in SAPS. Those convicted before January 2010 are still in the service and something needed to be done about it,” said Mazibuko.

Committee spokeswoman Annelize van Wyk expressed concern that the situation had been allowed to develop.

“It’s a prerequisite for a person who wants to join SAPS not to have a criminal record,” said Van Wyk.