5/15/2014 Arrests not enough to end police corruption says expert witness | Groundup

http://www.groundup.org.za/content/arrests-arent-enough-end-corruption 1/4
Home News Opinion Cartoons Reviews
NEWS
May 14, 2014 -
Arrests not enough to end police corruption says expert witness
Adam Armstrong
This morning the Khayelitsha
Inquiry into policing heard testimony
from Dr Liza Grobler about corruption in
SAPS.
Grobler is an independent criminologist who
has written extensively about corruption within
the South African Police Service (SAPS).
There is no leadership within SAPS on
corruption. There is too much noise and
deviance from head office one just needs to
look at the Crime Intelligence Unit as an
example [to understand that SAPS do not
provide leadership to end corruption], Grobler
testified.
Grobler criticised the police for the absence of a formal anti-corruption policy. She explained that there is no
formal anti-corruption strategy within SAPS, it has been on the table in some or other form since 1999, but it has
never been formally implemented.
SAPS legal representative, Advocate Thabani Masuku, stated that corrupt officials are arrested and prosecuted.
Grobler responded, Making arrests is not enough. You could arrest 157,000 serving officers if you wanted, but
that wouldnt make any change [to the institutional culture].
Grobler then went on to say that a starting point is for officers and managers to raise the level of professionalism
at the stations in Khayelitsha. She explained that the problem is about attitude and institutional culture, neither of
which are addressed through arrests.
When cops become cri mi nal s - the catchy s ubti tl e of
Li za Grobl er s recentl y publ i s hed book on pol i ce
corrupti on.
5/15/2014 Arrests not enough to end police corruption says expert witness | Groundup
http://www.groundup.org.za/content/arrests-arent-enough-end-corruption 2/4
According to an HSRC survey, police are perceived as the most corrupt government department.
The SAPS legal team argued against Grobler. Masuku stated, The police are as concerned as you are, about
corruption so the suggestion that the police, [and senior members] such as Phiyega, do not take corruption
seriously is an irresponsible assertion How can you make the claim, that there is no leadership on
corruption? He added, :Thats not an expert view.
Grobler responded ... then I am not an expert. Grobler stuck to her argument that SAPS has failed to
demonstrate it takes corruption seriously or that it is acting to reduce corruption within its ranks.
Masuku responded, There are preventative measures in place it is impossible that they are not in place. He
did not specify what these measures are.
Grobler spoke about morale and the abuse of power, linking the difficulties of the job to police corruption. The
way that abuse of power manifests often in the police is assault and police brutality. She explained that if the
experience of being a police officer is improved, and the police were able to enjoy their work more, the desire to
lash out would be less. She said this should be combined with effective accountability.
Subscribe to the GroundUp weekly newsletter.
Tweet 4
5/15/2014 Arrests not enough to end police corruption says expert witness | Groundup
http://www.groundup.org.za/content/arrests-arent-enough-end-corruption 3/4
Dont vote for these messiahs
2 comments a month ago
Milisuthando Bongela I'd vote for you.
How I was raped in prison
1 comment 6 days ago
ZEe yohhhhh ! i wish the younth would
read this article... very sad :(
Trial thats more important than Pistorius
1 comment 23 days ago
Jack Lewis Brilliant article. A must read.
Antidote to all the Pistorius bs..
Why Abahlali endorsed the DA
10 comments 10 days ago
Nicholas Spaull I find the lack of
impartiality on the part of Ground Up to be
highly unprofessional. Many of
ALSO ON GROUNDUP
0 Comments GroundUp Toni Falletisch
Sort by Best Share
Start the discussion
Be the first to comment.
WHAT'S THIS?
Subscribe Add Disqus to your site
Favorite
Most Popular
Everything you need to know about social grants
Why Abahlali endorsed the DA: Sbu Zikode speaks to GroundUp
Police clash with high-school students in Cape Town - province agrees to demands
ANC hands out t-shirts to voters in queues - parties cry foul
On the brink of genocide: Understanding whats happening in the Central African Republic
Subscribe to GroundUp newsletter
email address
5/15/2014 Arrests not enough to end police corruption says expert witness | Groundup
http://www.groundup.org.za/content/arrests-arent-enough-end-corruption 4/4
Commission of Inquiry
Arrests not enough to end police corruption says expert witness
Frayed tempers at Khayelitsha Inquiry as ORegan and Arendse spar
Expert witness: SAPS must be held accountable for how they spend their budget
ORegan compares distribution of police resources to apartheid
Khayelitsha cops: We are the whipping boys
SJC delighted at progress of Khayelitsha Commission
Call to make secret police document public
Khayelitsha Commission told by SAPS Major General convicted criminals come out of prison gangsters
Commission hears from emotional cop about systemic failures in investigating rape and murder
Senior SAPS members betray personal and institutional prejudices
more
All content on GroundUp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, unless otherwise stated.
Contact Us About GroundUp Code of Decency Disclaimer
Privacy Policy Publish with us Technical Advisory Board
Volunteer
Search |