A new report claims that one out of two JMPD officers are soliciting bribes from motorists.
|||Whether they are after a free lunch or a few thousand rand, a report claims that one out of two Joburg metro police department officers are soliciting bribes from motorists.
The report, which is the first from Corruption Watch, was released on Monday. It contains Joburg drivers’ stories of abuse at the hands of law enforcement officers.
“Adhere to the rules of the road has become ‘adhere to the rules of a corrupt system’,” said Corruption Watch executive director David Lewis.
Taxi drivers interviewed claimed they had no incentive to obey the law because, whether or not they did, they would still be pulled over and asked for bribes. Yeoville respondents said it was cheaper to pay bribes a few times a month than to fix their vehicles or acquire a driving licence.
Bryanston residents, however, were happy to have traffic officers patrolling through their neighbourhood over weekends, even if it meant having to fork out for bribes.
Their reasoning is that the visible presence of so many police officers reduced other crimes like housebreaking.
Between 2009 and 2011, the JMPD recorded only 184 instances of alleged corruption on the part of JMPD members, and out of these, only 37 officers were found guilty.
“Their data is more a reflection of their disciplinary procedure than their corruption on the roads,” said Lewis, adding that corruption in the organisation was systemic and widespread.
The report states that the chief of the JMPD estimated that about 10 percent of his officers were involved in corruption, whereas the MMC for safety and security conceded that the figure could be closer to 20 percent.
“We may have reached the point where corruption has become so deeply rooted in the system that both the perpetrators and the victims have a positive interest in the continuation of a corrupt system,” said Lewis in the report.
He argued that bribery was often seen as a victimless crime, which was incorrect. “Bribery often involves drunk driving and deficient vehicles… this fuels what we know to be one of the highest rates of road death in the world.”
Corruption Watch advised the JMPD to acknowledge the magnitude of the problem, make traffic officers wear clear identification, make reporting of corruption easier and implement sting operations to test the department’s officers.
City of Joburg spokesman Gabu Tugwana said many measures were already in place to prevent and eliminate corruption.
Lewis said Corruption Watch planned to publish a report on corruption in the healthcare system in the next few months.
Know your rights:
* if stopped by the police, you can ask to see the officer’s appointment card (which includes their picture, name, rank and station).
* If the officer refuses to identify himself, you do not have to show your driving licence.
* A male officer is not allowed to search a woman, but he can ask her to empty her pockets and bag.
* You are not obliged to pay fines on the spot, but if there is a warrant for your arrest against you, you can be detained until the fines are paid.
* If you are pulled over for drunk driving, the officer must take you to a police station to open a docket before you are taken to a clinic for a blood test. The test must be done within two hours. - The Star
theresa.taylor@inl.co.za