The South African Police Services’ motto is “To Protect and Serve”.
But a damning report released by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) reveals some police officials do quite the opposite, with several accused of causing death as result of their action, torture and other crimes.
IPID’s report for the 2021-’22 financial year shows that in the Western Cape, between April 2021 and March 2022, a total of 662 cases were referred to the entity for investigation. Of these, 215 (32,5%) were cases where steps were recommended.
A number of stations in the Overberg cluster were mentioned in this report. Matters that require action to be taken against police members are as follows: death as result of police action at Hermanus Police Station; death while in police custody at Gansbaai, Swellendam and Grabouw police stations; two counts of torture at Kleinmond Police Station; and discharge of an official firearm at Hermanus and Villiersdorp police stations.
Western Cape Minister of Community Safety and Police Oversight Reagen Allen described these statistics as “horrific, a disgrace and an indictment of the police.”Inexcusable state of affairs
He further stated: “It’s a complete travesty that members of the very service that should be protecting all of us while upholding the law have allegedly made themselves guilty of committing crime.
“Deaths, rapes and any other crime committed by a police officer can and will never be condoned. This is part of the reason why many residents have lost faith and trust in the police, as some members are seen to operate like criminals.”
Allen revealed that 160 of the 215 cases requiring steps to be taken against police officials are assault cases (common assault and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm).
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