Police Minister Bheki Cele says more than 7,000 police officers have been charged for various crimes in the last five years and this includes murder, rape, kidnapping and cash-in-transit heists.
POLICE Minister Bheki Cele says more than 7,000 police officers have been charged for various crimes in the last five years and this includes murder, rape, kidnapping and cash-in-transit heists.
Cele said out of these officers some have already been convicted and others are still on trial.
The minister said the alleged crimes were committed between the 2018/19 financial year and 2022/23 period.
Out of the more than 7,000 officers charged for various crimes, 686 were successfully prosecuted in court by the National Prosecuting Authority.
Cele said the officers were charged for a range of criminal activities.
“The total number of personnel, appointed in terms of the South African Police Service Act and who were charged for criminal offences, is 6,843. The total number of personnel, who were appointed in terms of the Public Service Act and who were charged for criminal offences, is 323,” said Cele.
Cele, who was replying to written parliamentary questions from EFF MPs Laetitia Arries and Piaba Madokwe and Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald, said the law had to take its course in cases where police officers made transgressions.
He said in the 2019/20 financial year 56 police officers were charged with murder, in 2020/21 a total of 80 officers were charged with murder, in 2021/22 a total of 49 officers faced murder charges and in the 2022/23 period 35 officers were charged with murder.
Cele said that in the 2020/21 financial year, two officers were charged for their involvement in cash-in-transit heists and in the following financial year two officers were charged for cash-in-transit heists.
The minister said that in the 2019/20 period, 19 officers were charged with rape, the following year 31 faced rape charges, in the 2021/22 period 29 officers faced rape charges and in the 2022/23 financial year 31 officers were charged with rape.
Some of the officers were also involved in robberies between 2019 and this year.
Cele said that during the 2019/20 period, 43 officers faced robbery charges and this number increased in the following financial year with 86 officers facing robbery charges and in the 2021/22 period 32 officers were charged with robbery and in the 2022/23 financial year 34 officers were charged with robbery.
The other crimes the police were involved in include kidnapping, fraud, human trafficking, truck hijackings, rhino poaching, tampering with essential infrastructure , drug dealing and corruption.
