Pinetown police officer constable Sanele Sophazi has stirred up controversy after she shared an image of herself while in SAPS uniform with a visible tattoo, on her Instagram.
The 30-year-old Durban based police officer has a great following on her social media and occasionally shares images of herself dressed in uniform.
In the image shared which landed her in hot water, Sanele can be seen posing while holding up an invisible gun in her hands.
The SAPS requirements of appointment state that all members should "not have a tattoo which will be visible if the person wears a uniform".
SAPS introduced a new tattoo policy in 2012 for official police members which bans all visible tattoos especially when in uniform.
Speaking to DRUM, provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele explained that before members are recruited they are well informed of this policy.
“There are police orders as well as a dress code and one of the policies in the police service is that if anyone is applying as a recruit it is stated clearly that you must not have a visible tattoo,” said Mbele.
“With regards to Sanele, ... when we conducted an initial internal investigation she stated that she had done this tattoo after she was already in the police service…” the Colonel explained to which she added: “[A]n internal investigation is still being conducted to determine the outcomes”.
