Cape Town | Tuesday
POLICE officers ”lost” 1448 case dockets last year, says Safety and Security Minister Steve Tshwete.
In written reply to a question in the National Assembly, he said 47 of these were murder dockets.
Among the reasons given by Tshwete for lost case dockets, were that they ”are lost at court or misplaced”, ”dockets get lost when members are transferred between units or take their discharge”, and negligence.
When a docket was lost, a duplicate was immediately opened and an investigation carried out.
Six officers were currently being investigated for ”playing a role” in the loss of dockets, he said. In other crime news, police said they had arrested over 32 000 people during ”Operation Tsipa” between January 28 and March 15.
In the anti-crime operation 1 470 vehicles, 1 057 illegal firearms and 1 031 stolen goods were seized.
National commissioner Jackie Selebi said murder, rape, child abuse and robbery were crime categories that had been prioritised by the police. Specific operations would be launched in identified areas to counter these crimes.
Selebi urged the public to become involved with community policing forums, join the SA Police Service as reservists, and volunteer to assist with the administrative duties at police stations. – Sapa