Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government
DUARTE ORDERS INVESTIGATION INTO POLICE CONDUCT IN TEMBISA
Gauteng's MEC for Safety & Security, Ms Jessie Duarte, has asked senior police management to investigate the conduct of the SAPS in Tembisa shortly before the festive period.
Ms Duarte visited Tembisa Police Station on Tuesday 9 January and met with Assistant Commissioner Victor (apologies: no first name provided) and his management team, as well as with representative from the township's Community Police Forum and police reservists.
The visit was in response to complaints by the community that police had refused to patrol the area on 23 December 1995 because they "had no diesel for their police Nyala".
There had also been complaints that the police station was severely disadvantaged during the festive period because 13 police personnel had simultaneously booked off sick - at a time when there was tremendous tension in the area. The tension was caused by the shooting of a police reservist by gangsters.
Assistant Commissioner Victor was asked to ensure that the Community Police Forum was provided with a plan of action from the SAPS outlining how it intended to deal with crime in the township.
"The police have an obligation to provide a service to the community, and they must fulfill that obligation," Ms Duarte said today (Wednesday). "We have spent the past 18 months building relationships between the community and the police. I am not prepared to see this flushed away by police personnel who neglect the very community they are supposed to be working with.
"The level of distrust between the people of Tembisa and the police can only be overcome when the police are seen to be visibly and actively arresting criminals and are visibly present in the community, during the day and at night."
Ms Duarte has asked Assistant Commissioner Victor to also investigate claims by police reservists that SAPS members are directly involved in car hijackings in the townships. Victor has been asked to take affidavits from reservists who claim to have knowledge of corrupt police officers.
Another meeting has been scheduled for 18 January, to receive a report-back from Assistant Commissioner Victor.
"What happened in Tembisa is a classic example of what I call `passive policing'", Ms Duarte said. "And it is something I am going to challenge on a daily basis, wherever and whenever I find it.
"Yes, we are committed to improving the living and working conditions of police personnel. But we cannot allow a situation where police refrain from acting in times of crisis - as seems to have been the case in Tembisa."
Issued by: Chris Vick, Communications Director, Gauteng Pager: (011) 4571111 code 7320
19h30 Wednesday 10 January 1996