Publications
Partners
1. Two portly officers stop a VW in Westdene, and appear to solicit a bribe from the occupants. The incident is caught on nearby CCTV, and the JMPD states that the men are relieved of their ordinary duties, pending an investigation.
2. An officer attempts to solicit a bribe from a motorist. The incident is recorded. As soon as the cellphone becomes evident, and the motorist requests the officer's badge number, the officer seeks the advice of his "supervisor". According to the news reports, the motorist is arrested, supposedly on charges of drunk driving, and released on bail. The nearby SAPS refuses to investigate a counter-charge. (I will donate R1,000 to the charity of Wayne Minnaar's choice if the motorist is convicted of a charge of driving under the influence, stemming from this (vengeful) arrest.)
3. An associate was stopped in Midrand, for what appeared to be a routine stop - licence check and whatnot. The motorist was asked straight up for a donation to "the JMPD year-end fund". The motorist laughed, thinking it was a joke, and declined. The officer promptly wrote up a ticket for the use of a cellphone. The motorist in question was using a built-in Bluetooth hands-free kit at the time.
The Malaise that is the JMPD
The remit of all Metro police departments is threefold: (i) traffic policing, (ii) bylaw enforcement, and (iii) providing regular policing in the absence of the SAPS.
To begin with, the JMPD invested their time heavily in traffic law enforcement, as a means of revenue generation for the city, not born out of any serious concern with road safety. It is not unusual to find a traffic light out of order, with a JMPD speed trap in operation 500m away. When questioned, the officers will assert that pointsman duty is not in their scope of work.
The JMPD has been pinged by the Public Protector, for using regular mail instead of registered mail, as required by AARTO, for the delivery of traffic fine notices to citizens. It follows that their intent is to maximise revenue, by avoiding costly mail options.
However, in the last two-to-three years, things have become more sinister. The officers making up the JMPD have figured that traffic law enforcement can be lucrative on a personal level.
It started, in my recollection, when some mates were stopped on Rivonia Road, having just left a well-known sporting establishment, a little the worse for wear. The JMPD were not in the least interested in arresting anybody. All offending motorists were taken to the nearby drive-through ATM, and made to withdraw R1,000-R1,500, to secure safe passage. Motorists who insisted they be arrested, were threatened with pistols.
Every offence, real or alleged, carries with it an official fine, say R500, which can be made to "go away" for a small fee, call it R50. I will be the first to acknowledge that there are motorists who offer the bribe, but 9 times out of 10, it is the JMPD officer who offers the convenient way out. The "spot fine", the "end-of-year fund", the "lunch", the "cool drink".
In the beginning, as rogue cops were few and far between, one could laugh it off, and tell the officer to write the fine, or drive away with no paperwork in hand (the norm when no actual offence was committed). But of late, the problem has become so endemic, that a side-dish of maliciousness has been added to the menu.
For starters, the JMPD have begun to invent their own offences. Such as "filming an officer" and "not having an e-tag". They are also not enforcing certain offences properly. For example, having a warning triangle only applies to cars registered after a certain date, not all cars. And that there is a 21 day grace period after a licence disk has expired.
Of greater concern is the threat level. If the motorist does not stump up the bribe money, s/he is threatened with arrest, and advised that a court date may only be arranged in a few days. Or a group of officers is roped into haranguing the motorist. It is not unusual for JMPD thugs to grab a motorist's wallet as they look for their licence, and to take whatever cash they can find.
Female motorists driving alone are at particular risk. Instead of a monetary bribe, they are often advised that the fine can be waived if they have sex with the officer in the nearby van. Or if they aren't prepared to pay the bribe, they are advised that their arrest will possibly also include rape, back at the police station.
Of course, this level of brazenness requires complicity of more officers. At any given roadblock, all of the officers are in on it. The SAPS station or JMPD office that will process those "arrested", receives their cut too. There is a brotherhood amongst the police from a variety of agencies. And there is the tacit knowledge that "their own" are not going to turn against them. After all, an acknowledged "skelm" is now the head of IPID. The proverbial fox has been put in charge of the chicken coop.
So what do we do?
Keep up the pressure. Keep filming the bastards. Keep putting that fuck-wit Minnaar on the spot.
More importantly, look after yourself. Don't give the thugs the excuse they need to stop you. Talking on the phone without a hands-free is either a R1k fine or R100 bribe. Stop at traffic lights and stop signs. Keep your car in a roadworthy condition. Don't overtake on solid lines. Yes, we all know the taxis break these laws all the time, but by following suit, we only sink to their level, and make ourselves targets.
If stopped, and if you can, use your mobile to voice-record the conversation. Advise the officer that the conversation is being recorded, and leave the phone on the dash, out of their reach. Do not accept that "recording an officer is illegal".
Check the officer's uniform. If his/her name badge is not immediately visible, ask to see it. If it was simply hidden under a high-vis vest, probably an honest mistake. If the officer ums and ahs, expect trouble. The same applies to an officer's warrant card. If the officer doesn't have it, s/he is an ordinary citizen.
If the officer says you have committed an offence, and it sounds a bit hocus-pocus to you, ask for the AARTO charge code. If it's a legitimate offence / charge, the officer should be able to provide it without delay.
Be polite, and do not obstruct the officer, or one of his cronies, from doing their job. Let them make the play.
If anything is dodgy, call the JMPD anti-corruption line pronto! 0800 203 712. Save that number to your mobile now.
A Message for Mayor Tau, and Minnaar
Boys... we're sick of your bull. We don't accept that your officers are all angels, and the public are solely at fault for offering bribes. Anecdotal evidence suggests it is the diametric opposite. Your people are thugs and criminals.
The time is ripe for the World Class African Shithole to step up to the plate, and to deal with the thugs you call your police force. Enough is now enough.
