Police get serious on uniformed criminals

POLICE have arrested a 43year-old suspect for allegedly manufacturing police uniforms, bulletproof vests, name tags and beanies, and selling the outfits to criminals, police said.

Police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk said the shop manufacturing the police outfits was based in Southfield, in the Diepriver area.

Van Wyk said the suspect had already appeared at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court and the case was postponed until later this month.

On Wednesday, acting provincial police commissioner Thembisile Patekile told about 100 residents of Hout Bay, Masiphumelele and Ocean View during an Imbizo about the arrest of the suspect.

Patekile told the crowd criminals wearing police uniforms and shops manufacturing police uniforms was unacceptable.

“This is a serious problem. If you see someone (who) you suspect is not a police officer, but is wearing police uniform, report the person to the police,” he said, adding that to be in possession of a police uniform was a serious offence, punishable by law.

Patekile’s revelation came after residents complained that the number of incidents of police impersonations had become common in their neighbourhoods, to such an extent that residents do not trust anyone in police uniform.

Resident Ncedo Ndongeni had told Patekile that a member of his congregation was recently robbed by criminals wearing police uniforms.

“The most challenging problem is that the public by law cannot defy police officers, and this makes it difficult not to fall prey to criminals wearing police uniforms.

Last year, people in Fish Hoek and Mitchells Plain were robbed by suspects in police uniform. In June that year, an ATM at the Mitchell’s Plain Promenade Mall was targeted by uniformed armed robbers, while a month earlier, five men in police uniform robbed a jewellery store in Green Point. sandiso.phaliso@inl.co.za

@PhalisoSandiso