Cape Town - Allegations that the police’s Anti-Gang Unit members (AGU) abused their powers when performing their duties were unsubstantiated, the Western Cape Police Ombudsman (WCPO) has found.
The Ombudsman's office received several complaints from members of various communities, as well as a complaint from Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz after his office received similar complaints against members of the AGU.
Some of those complaints allegedly involved elderly residents being searched in the early hours of the morning, single women and children whose homes were dishevelled and damaged in the process of being searched, and some of those searches having been conducted at the incorrect address, resulting in the undue harassment of innocent people.
WCPO head of office, Deidré Foster, said it’s probe was concluded in May. She said the AGU could not be linked to any of the alleged incidents.
Foster said there were various components/units within the police that conducted raids/operations. However, members of the public had assumed that the police personnel implicated in the allegations were from the AGU, which could not be proven.
Fritz said his office noted the recommendation that operational members of the police be sensitised to adhere to the code of conduct.
"It is our view that this will not only bring down wrongdoing on the part of the SAPS, it will also greatly improve the quality of service that our citizens receive from the SAPS," Fritz said.
ANC provincial spokesperson for community safety, Mesuli Kama, said the ANC in the legislature was concerned about the reported cases of police brutality, and was on record as condemning them and encouraging the public to report cases to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).
"We are aware of the DA-inspired investigation of the AGU by the WCPO. This is part of the agenda to undermine and weaken the police's efforts to fight crime in the province," said Kama.
He said that while they understood the plight of the people, they were calling on them not to fall in the trap of supporting the DA's agenda to undermine the national government.
"Police brutality is a painful experience and all cases should be forwarded to Ipid, and not to other duplicate structures used in the politicisation of crime in the province," he said.
Foster said their office had received and investigated in excess of 3 300 complaints from members of the public against the police.
A criminologist at Stellenbosch University's political science department, Guy Lamb, said the AGU was set up specifically to be a militarised and aggressive policing unit.
Lamb said it was established to fight the embedded and entrenched criminal gangs in the country, within Cape Town specifically, that use violence, engage in violence, and drive violent crimes.
"That is why the police saw the need to use this kind of militarised response to deal with gangs; of course, this is just one solution. There are other solutions that are persuasive that don't necessarily require aggressive policing," he said.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said the conduct of the police when they interfaced with members of the public needed to be beyond reproach.
"On a regular basis police officers are sensitised to the humane manner in which they should treat members of the public, whether they are suspected of having committed a crime or not," said Potelwa.
She said that through mediums such as station lectures and parades, police officers were reminded to uphold the law and conduct themselves in a professional manner, with the police code of conduct being their reference.
"In instances where police members are suspected of unbecoming conduct, the SAPS management should be alerted in order to afford them an opportunity to take decisive steps," she said.