The Inkatha Freedom Party calls on government to strengthen its regulations and take swift action against the unlawful use of South African Police Services’ uniforms.
Recent media reports have revealed police uniforms and other SAPS resources are being utilised by criminals in a number of illegal activities.
“We want to know where these criminals acquired SAPS uniforms and what the police ministry is doing about this. In Robertson in the Western Cape, four men pretending to be policemen entered a retail store last week; one carried an R5 rifle while others carried handguns. Two suspects wore bullet-proof vests, one of them was wearing a police baseball cap and another had a case docket cover in his hand” said IFP spokesperson on Police, Mr Albert Mncwango.
“In 2013, in Gauteng alone, 250 incidents were reported at different police stations in a space of 18 months. Since then, it was said that a multi-disciplinary team had been formed, comprising of detectives, visible policing and crime intelligence, as well as a retired detective, to tackle this issue. However, real strides have not been made to clamp down on these criminals” concludes Mncwango.
The IFP wants the Minister of Police to take immediate action and investigate this matter as it has now become a national issue and also determine whether there is collusion between these criminals and members of SAPS.
Issued by:
Mr Albert Mncwango MP,
IFP spokesperson on Correctional services, 083 448 4896