The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the City of Ekurhuleni can reveal that 167 Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) officers have criminal records.
According to responses to questions posed by the DA, 3449 fingerprints were taken during the last audit of 2022 and 3199 came back with no criminal findings. 250 officers were indeed found to have criminal records. Of these, 83 are awaiting trial leaving 167 officers having criminal records. Some of the crimes range from house break-ins, murder, fraud at the licensing department and driving whilst intoxicated.
Further to this response is that none of these officers have been arrested or suspended from duty. The South African Police Act of 1995 and the Criminals Procedures Act of 1997 emphatically state that no municipal police officer is allowed to have a criminal record. Yet, in Ekurhuleni, hundreds of the officers that are supposed to protect Ekurhuleni residents do.
How can Ekurhuleni residents trust metro police who themselves have criminal records? The DA believes that a caring government would ensure that police officers are compliant with all relevant Acts. Where officers have criminal records, they should have been arrested, or suspended until their cases are cleared by a court or relevant disciplinary body of the police.
We cannot allow the very people whose duty it is to serve and protect us to continue to work in the municipality while having criminal records. Under the ANC/EFF coalition, Ekurhuleni has become a gangster state.