Cele refutes claim he is hiding details of criminally-charged police

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Police Minister, Bheki Cele, has refuted claims that he is refusing to disclose information on the number of police officers who were arrested for committing murder, robbery and rape.

The minister was reacting to criticism made by some of the political parties in Parliament that he is hiding details on the number of police personnel who were criminally charged in the past four financial years.

The question was posed the FF Plus leader, Pieter Groenewald.

Police Ministry Spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, says: “The minister’s parliamentary response really emphasises (the importance) of providing the correct and verifiable data to South Africans. It is on that score that we are not necessarily declining to account to Parliament, but we know that providing inaccurate data may be harmful to the organisation and its reputation, especially the reputation of hard working men and women in blue. As the parliamentary reply indicates that the SAPS is embarking on a validation process which, upon completion, will provide reliable and verified information on SAPS members who are involved in criminal activities. And we know that this process is due to be completed by the 30^th of September this year.”