Probe into rape stats claim
2009-06-24 22:17
Cape Town - Western Cape police are probing allegations that a sex crimes unit has manipulated its statistics, provincial commissioner Mzwandile Petros said on Wednesday.
He was reacting to a claim by provincial safety MEC Lennit Max that 56 rape cases in and around Paarl had not been registered as criminal cases on the police's database.
Instead, Max said, they had been listed merely as inquiries.
Petros told a media briefing in Cape Town that manipulation of statistics was a criminal offence and tantamount to corruption.
Criminal charges
"Every person that is seen to be breaking the law, as the chief of police, I will make it a point that the person is disciplined departmentally and is charged criminally," he said.
He said a senior police officer had "picked up" that there were question marks over stats of the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit that operated in the Paarl Valley area.
Petros said he had instructed the official in his office responsible for verification of statistics, assistant commissioner Raymond Strydom, to investigate.
He had also suggested to Max at their weekly meeting on Monday that the MEC send one of his officials to join in the investigation.
"I am still waiting for the report," Petros said. "Whilst waiting for the report, I'm told that the headlines in Cape Town are actually talking about the report I'm waiting for.
"It's unfair. I think it's unfair, because a due process is supposed to be followed in any investigation."
Petros mum on relationship with Max
Petros said he had been under "tremendous pressure" over a police probe launched last year into what he said was gross manipulation of statistics at Lansdowne police station in Cape Town.
He had been told the investigation should be dropped "or else you are going to be embarrassed".
Petros said police were being asked to deliver on crime reduction targets, but they were not being asked to cheat on their stats.
He declined to be drawn on the quality of his relationship with Max, saying his focus was on fighting crime in the province.
- SAPA