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This morning's reports of police officers who have been convicted of crimes and who are subsequently allowed to continue to work as police officers, is a long standing problem and one that must be rectified as a matter of urgency.

Convicted SAPS members as well as officers charged with crimes, appear to still be working for the Service. The fact that law breakers are allowed to continue service as law enforcers, is wrong, and highlights fundamental deficiencies within the Police Service.

The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), the police ‘watchdog', has often recommended suspension or other disciplinary action against certain SAPS members for their conduct, but these recommendations have often been ignored. The last available information from 2008 showed, in fact, that only 58% of ICD recommendations were followed.

I submitted a private member's legislative proposal with the Speaker's office in June 2009, to propose empowering the ICD and to create a greater onus on the SAPS to enact recommendations. As of today, I am still waiting to present my proposal before the Committee on Private Members Legislative Proposals. The top structures are all talking about getting tough on crime, but what about getting tough on crime within the SAPS?

The ICD in the 2008/2009 financial year received over 6119 complaints against SAPS members, almost half of which were for misconduct.

Police members convicted of crimes cannot be allowed to continue as law enforcers. How can the South African public be expected to trust a police service that bankrolls tried and convicted criminals? The DA will today put questions to the Minister of Police to establish how many police officers employed by the SAPS have been convicted of crimes.