National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega said on Tuesday that police officers with criminal records could not simply be fired.
According to an IOL report, Phiyega made the comments to the Western Cape legislature after being quizzed about an audit that found that nearly 1500 officers had criminal records. None of the officers in question had yet been dismissed.
“The non-disclosure of a criminal record in most organisations would result in a summary dismissal. Why is it not the case with the SA Police Service?” asked Mark Wiley, the chairperson of the standing committee on community safety.
Phiyega replied that it wasn’t quite that simple.
“You’ll agree with me that we are like most organisations. In terms of our agreement with labour and other people, we will use all the labour laws that are at hand to ensure we respect the rights of everybody,” she said.
Wiley said it was important that the SAPS be cleaned up.
“Okay, I think you’re being very soft on them. The many organisations I know, it’s a straight walk,” said Wiley. – iafrica.com