The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has assured the IPID Head in KZN of police managements continued support in rooting out unruly elements within the SAPS. This comment follows the arrest of nine police officers this morning for attempted murder.
Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi remains steadfast in his approach towards police officers that break the law especially as police officers have taken an oath to protect and serve our communities. We are working closely with IPID, the Hawks as well as our own anti-corruption unit that are investigating cases were police officers break the law and we remain committed to root out corrupt police officers. There are millions of unemployed people that are willing to join the SAPS to protect and serve and we will not hold on to those that do not want to work within the confines of the law.
Over the past three years since the appointment of the Provincial Commissioner, we have seen 105 police officers being arrested for various offences in KZN. These police officers are also subjected to our own disciplinary processes. Because we take misconduct seriously, the standard of proof is not beyond reasonable doubt, as in criminal cases, but based on a balance of probabilities. This enables us to proceed swiftly with disciplinary investigations and in most instances our disciplinary cases are finalised well ahead of the criminal cases. Over the past three years in this province, 314 police officers have been dismissed from the SAPS after going through various processes such as suspension, redeployment to other environments etc.
Whilst we are faced with such incidents where the actions of some police officers tarnish the image of the SAPS, we wish to extend our words of appreciation to police officers across the province who continue to serve and protect communities whilst risking their lives. Every day we hear of incidents where police officers put their lives on the line in order to create a safer environment and they do this within the confines of the law.
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