Durban - The dismissal of Hawks spokesman, Colonel McIntosh Polela, for his tweets on prison rape has drawn criticism, because thousands of policemen convicted of far worse offences are still at work.
A flaw in the police disciplinary system is leading to some police officers being fired for minor offences, while thousands of others remain on duty despite being convicted of serious and violent crimes.
This clearly indicated that police management did not take criminality within its ranks seriously, said Gareth Newman, head of the governance, crime and justice division at the Institute for Security Studies.
Newman was commenting on Thursday on the dismissal of Polela for making a controversial reference to prison rape on Twitter.
This week Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, in reply to a parliamentary question by the DA’s Dianne Kohler Barnard, confirmed that Polela had been fired.
He had been suspended in November, three weeks after he tweeted that convicted murderer and kwaito star Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye’s supporters should give him a jar of vaseline to take to prison.
Newman said his dismissal clearly demonstrated that the police disciplinary system was uneven and not functioning at its best.
Polela was paid more than R300 000 during the time he was on suspension.
Newman said that according to the Police Act, police officers could only be dismissed if they were convicted and sent directly to prison without the option of a fine.
“Those who are given the option of a fine, pay it and return to duty,” he said. “They should (also) be fired. Presently there are many police officers who are fired for minor offences while others, convicted of serious and violent crimes, are still in service.”
Police management should be looking at the nature of the crime and not the sentence, Newman said.
He described this as a major flaw in the Police Act.
“This is a serious problem and the act needs to be thoroughly reviewed and strengthened. If not, it will lead to serious problems in the future.”
Newman said according to the SAPS annual performance plan for 2013/14 there were 8 846 criminal charges against sitting members of the police.
“There are thousands more who have been convicted and are back at work after paying their fines. This comes down to leadership. If they are committed to fixing the police, they need to change things.”
Newman said he believed Polela’s dismissal was justified.
“He had a very high profile and was the face of the police. We cannot have such a person in office who undermines the constitution by making such comments.”
However, Kohler Barnard said she found it extraordinary that Polela was fired over a tweet.
“He should have been disciplined through internal processes and given a warning or lighter sanction,” she said. “There are thousands of police officers who have been convicted of much (more) serious crimes, yet they are at work. They should be fired.”
Kohler Barnard suggested that “something or someone” had “worked Polela out”.
“In my view he was doing a good job. There is no justifying his bad-taste tweet. But I do not think he should have been fired,” she said.
“I have never heard of someone being fired over a bad tweet. Yet there are police officers who have been convicted of beating up people, theft, fraud and other offences and they are still on duty. They should be booted out of the police.”
National police spokesman, Brigadier Phuti Setati, said Polela had appeared before a disciplinary hearing committee.
Based on the seriousness of his misconduct, he was dismissed on March 27, in accordance with the police disciplinary regulations, he said.
“The Internal Appeals Authority of the police confirmed the sanction against Polela on May 8 and it was delivered to his attorney on May 16. Receipt of it was acknowledged,” Setati said.
Setati declined to comment further on the police disciplinary system in place at present or the number of convicted policemen/women on duty.
Speaking from KwaZulu-Natal yesterday, Polela said he had not seen the dismissal letter.
“But, I want to thank the police for the great opportunity they gave me,” he said.
“I will not engage in a screaming match with them.”
When asked if he would appeal against the decision at a higher level, Polela said his lawyer was looking at his options.
Daily News