High ranking police officers were harshly interrogated and humiliated in the presence of colleagues for alleged dereliction of duty if unable to control crime in the areas under their control, the Cape High Court heard on Tuesday.
Marius van der Westhuizen, former charge office commander at the Claremont police station, told the court of the dreaded Provincial Crime Combating Forum (PCCF), where officers were unfairly accused of dereliction of duty.
The PCCFs were presided over by the provincial commissioner of police.
Van der Westhuizen is charged with three counts of murder for allegedly shooting his three children.
He has been in the witness stand since Monday, testifying in his own defence, led by defence attorney Milton de la Harpe.
He told Judge Willem Louw and assessor M Powell that high ranking police officers in command posts, who were summoned to the PCCF, often did not know whether they would return to their posts or be summarily transferred elsewhere — over crime combating problems that were beyond their control.
He told the court about the PCCF in order to highlight the severe stress and trauma he had experienced since his promotion from charge office commander to assistant station commissioner.
As assistant station commissioner, he had to take over from the station commissioner whenever his superior was absent from the office, and had to attend to the commissioner’s duties in addition to his duties as charge office commander.
Van der Westhuizen said the PCCF was attended by other high ranking officers and that the summoned officer would be sternly interrogated.
At one stage a syndicate of gangs was hijacking cars in Claremont, Van der Westhuizen said.
He told the court: ”A car would be hijacked at an intersection and minutes later the same gang would hijack a second vehicle at another intersection, and then a third and fourth vehicle — all within a few minutes. The hijacked vehicles would then be used in armed robberies the same day, by the same gang.”
Van der Westhuizen said these hijacking incidents were highly stressful to him and he feared that he would be summoned to the PCCF.
He said prior to being summoned to the PCCF, an officer would be summoned to a Zone Crime Combating Forum (ZCCF). At the ZCCF, the officer would be severely humiliated in the presence of all his colleagues.
The trial continues on Wednesday. – Sapa