SowetanLive reports that at least 250 workers within the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) have criminal records, while some others still have to appear in courts for crimes they allegedly committed.  

Responding to questions in the Gauteng legislature this month, MMC for community safety, Letlhogonolo Moseki, said 3,449 fingerprints from EPMD employees were taken during the last audit of 2022 and handed over to the provincial police commissioner’s office for processing. He reported that 3,199 fingerprints came back with no criminal findings and that the remaining 250 were linked to criminal activities. Of these 250 employees, 167 employees had criminal records and 87 were awaiting trial for various offences. According to requirements for appointment as a member of a municipal police service, the applicant should not have previous criminal convictions (excluding previous convictions relating to political activities in the previous dispensation). The National Road Traffic Act also restricts the appointment and registration of an officer as a traffic officer or a traffic warden with a criminal record and this rule moreover applies to clerks and cashiers. "Therefore, no EMPD employee may have a criminal record, unless the employee was waived or their record expunged," Moseke indicated in his response, but added that no employee had been dismissed because of their criminal records. The DA asked how Ekurhuleni residents could trust metro police who themselves had criminal records.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lindile Sifile at SowetanLive

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page