Police Oversight and Community Safety
In relation to community policing forums (CPFs) in the Western Cape:
(1) Whether all CPF members were properly vetted before being appointed; if not, (a) why not and (b) how many have not been vetted;
(2) if any CPF members’ clearance reports show that they have criminal records, are they still able to be appointed;
(3) whether there are any CPF members with criminal records; if so, (a) how many are there and (b) what is the quantitative breakdown of the respective crimes?
[1]
[a] No, members of the forum or sub-forum are only vetted after their appointment. The Uniform Constitution for Community Police Forums and Boards in the Western Cape (2010) states that members of the forum or sub-forum will subject themselves to the screening process within 30 days (thirty days) after election, therefore all Community Police Forum members were screened after the election.
[b] All members are vetted after their election and those with criminal records may be rejected as a member of the executive of forum or sub-forum due to:
- Involvement and/or alleged involvement in criminal activities;
- A serious criminal record; and/or
- failure to make a criminal record known at the time of applying.
[2] Yes, the Uniform Constitution for Community Police Forums and Boards in the Western Cape (2010) states that, when considering the rejection of an application or termination of membership on the grounds of offences or alleged offences, the forum or sub-forum must take the following factors into consideration:
- the number of convictions;
- the time laps since the last conviction; and
- the fact that the convictions were not made at the time of applying for membership or appointment as a member of the forum.
[3]
[a] 0
[b] N/A
