A senior member of the London Metropolitan Police Service (LMPS) will assist South Africa in fighting corruption within its own police service, LPMS commissioner Sir John Stevens said on Wednesday.
A detective inspector will be seconded to the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) — which probes alleged misconduct against South African Police Service members — for a year.
Candidates will fly to South Africa later this month for interviews. They are all expert investigating officers who have dealt with criminality at the highest level, Stevens said in a speech prepared for delivery to the Pretoria Press Club.
He said the battle against corruption within a police service requires permanent vigilance and action.
”Corruption is like the garbage — it has to be removed daily,” he said.
The LMPS has in the past assisted in training various South African police units, including the Scorpions special investigating team.
Stevens said the LMPS has developed a comprehensive, hard-hitting corruption and dishonesty prevention strategy as a result of problems within its own ranks in the 1990s.
”In extreme cases, a very limited number of officers had forged partnerships with major criminals,” he said.
The LPMS now hopes to share its experience with South Africa.
”Without the trust and confidence of the people we serve, there is a very real danger that they will begin to withdraw their support for the police service,” Stevens warned.
He added that the LPMS has developed a high-profile strategy to warn potential offenders just how ruthlessly corruption will be tackled.
”This can be a painful process for an organisation and its personnel. In the short term it can be damaging to morale and public reputation, as it appears that people’s views of an allegedly corrupt organisation are confirmed.”
But, he added, the dividends are enormous ”with both our people and the public realising that we are getting to grips with the problem”. — Sapa