5 700 cops can't drive
2008-10-28 22:23
Michael Hamlyn
Cape Town - Nathi Mthethwa, the new Safety and Security Minister, has told Parliament that 5 733 police officers do not have valid driving licences.
These include 3 338 inspectors, 1 712 sergeants, and as many as 280 captains.
Giving these figures in a written answer to a parliamentary question from James Masango of the Democratic Alliance circulated on Tuesday, Mthethwa said the current figures were arrived at after a verification process which followed a similar question put last year.
He also admitted that the non-drivers included 620 members of the detective service and 67 from crime intelligence. Altogether 4 984 members of the visible policing units could not drive. Seventeen superintendents cannot either.
The provincial breakdown of non-drivers shows that Gauteng and the Eastern Cape account for more than half the cops unfamiliar with the steering wheel.
- I-Net Bridge (News24)