Pretoria - Police officers must be seen and see themselves as guardians of human rights and the Constitution, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Tuesday.
"When society gets affected by crime, they need to have hope that police will do their best to protect them," Mthethwa said at the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) seminar on the prevention of systemic corruption.
He told those who attended the gathering in East London that law enforcement agencies needed to mobilise and sustain a campaign against corruption, across all spheres of society.
"Critical in fighting crime is the campaign to weed out elements within the criminal justice system who are engaged in various acts of crime, including corruption," said Mthethwa, adding that they needed to root out criminal elements within the system.
"The deviant activities of a few rotten apples in our midst should not be allowed to tempt us to subtract from the human rights of society, the majority of who are responsible, law-abiding citizens. The IPID must therefore assist us to expose such elements, without fear of favour," said Mthethwa.
The IPID's primary focus should not just be about processing complaints but emphasis should be on developing strong investigative capacity.
Formerly known as the Independent Complaints Directorate, IPID was officially unveiled on 1 April with a new focus on ensuring higher convictions.
"Not only do you have the legislative capacity to investigate any police officer involved in human rights abuses but will also be able to use this investigative capacity to investigate issues of systemic corruption," Mthethwa said.
He said in implementing the IPID legislation, the policy ministry further wanted to ensure that the new approach supported the community-policing idea.
"It should also help our efforts as we create and transform the SAPS into a type of police service we envisage."
