DA calls for full ICD Investigation into SAPS VIP Unit
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today written to the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) calling for an investigation into the VIP Protection Services unit of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
While high profile South African leaders certainly need protection, members of the public must not be terrorised and have their lives threatened by officers who consider themselves above the law.
There have been a number of reported incidents where members of the VIP unit have endangered the lives of the public through negligence or reckless conduct. The most recent of these occurred in KwaZulu-Natal over the weekend, causes unnecessary injury to eight innocent people. The frequency of such incidents even caused a magistrate to use the term "blue light gang" during court proceedings (see here).
It is critical that the public are able to regard all members of the police service with respect, and that law enforcement officers who act negligently or criminally face the consequences of their actions. If this does not happen, the SAPS will continue to struggle to gain the cooperation and support of an increasingly mistrusting public. The actions of a few can seriously damage the reputations of the many, and it is for this reason that the ICD must conduct an investigation containing:
- A review of all reported incidents of abuse, negligence and reckless conduct as well as any criminal charges which have been laid against past and current members of the VIP unit over the past five years;
- A review of all disciplinary proceedings against members of the VIP unit, in terms of their content and their outcomes;
- A review of the qualifications, skills and experience of all VIP members stationed around the country, by rank and by post;
- A review of the management and supervisory policies, structures and processes of the VIP unit to determine any weaknesses and gaps;
- The identification of any other possible causes of dereliction of duty, such as inadequate training; and
- A list of recommendations regarding how conduct issues can be improved within the unit, as well as any other areas which require improvement.
In addition, the DA calls for a specific code of conduct to be developed for the VIP unit over and above the existing SAPS Code of Conduct and SAPS Code of Ethics. Such a code should, amongst others, demand a commitment from VIP SAPS members never to:
- Exceed the speed limit, except in cases of extreme emergency,
- Break any other rules of the road,
- Intimidate or in any way threaten other motorists on the road, and,
- Never to drive with visible firearms or to brandish them from within moving vehicles.
Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard, MP, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on safety and security, November 20 2008
