TWO Diepkloof policemen were arrested and convicted last year for theft of parts from cars stored at the vehicle pound and police were currently investigating other cases allegedly involving unit staff, Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Ngobeni, media liaison officer for the SAPS in Soweto said this week.
”We cannot rule out the possibility that members of the SAP steal also. It is not the police per se but individuals — you know, you have a rotten apple, sometimes.” He said the Diepkloof policemen received five and one-year jail sentences.
Ngobeni said thieves gained access by breaking through the pre-cast concrete wall around the unit. ”The police are in the process of installing an infra-red alarm system and floodlights, and have applied for an electric fence to be erected.”
He said the unit offered a 24-hour service but that it was difficult to detect thieves at night, hence the need for lighting. ”When an owner reports his car having been stripped we advise him to report to Diep-kloof police station and we are dealing with several cases.” Cars could not be removed from the pound until the vehicle theft unit authorised it. The officer in charge of the pound informed car owners within 30 days of getting authorisation.
On the bribery allegations, Ngobeni said a notice displayed at the pound said services were free of charge. ”It would be stupid for anyone to pay a policeman for his car. It is illegal.”
It was not true that owners of vehicles were responsible for damage to impounded vehicles. ”Vehicles there fall under the responsibility of the SAP,” he said.