BusinessDay reports that the Madlanga commission heard on Tuesday that the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) has almost 300 officers with criminal records in service – including for murder and rape – without any disciplinary action having been taken against them.

Former EMPD deputy chief Revo Spies told the commission there was a systematic failure of disciplinary procedures in the department, which enabled convicted criminals to serve as police officers without providing proof of expungement of their criminal record. He told the commission about the findings of an SA Police Service (SAPS) fingerprint analysis on EMPD officers, which was compiled after EMPD police chief Isaac Mapiyeye issued a directive in 2022 that officers be checked for criminal records.

According to the SAPS report, 275 EMPD officers were found to have criminal records, and others were also awaiting trial. That included four officers convicted of murder, four convicted of rape and 58 convicted of assault. Other crimes included robbery, kidnapping, theft and driving under the influence. Spies told the commission some of the officers had been convicted before joining the service, but he did not know how they had managed to get into the service, because candidates were screened for criminal records. He also indicated that a police officer who had been convicted of murdering his wife had been allowed to return to the EMPD after his release from prison.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sinesipho Schrieber at BusinessDay (subscriber access only)
• Read too, Madlanga Commission: Ex-official reveals 275 EMPD officers have criminal convictions, at News24 (subscription / trial registration required)

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