Police being ripped off in civil actions: Phiyega

16 April 2015 - 02:41 By Bianca Capazorio

National police commissioner Riah Phiyega said yesterday that the police were being targeted by people looking to make a quick buck while claiming to be seeking redress. Phiyega told parliament's policing portfolio committee that "there will always be cases for civil claims [against the police], but we can reduce them".She was responding to a question from the Freedom Front Plus's Pieter Groenewald. Groenewald had asked why the payout of civil claims against the police had increased by 137% last year.Phiyega said the police were being targeted in much the same way as the Road Accident Fund was - with "lawyers touting outside our gates".She said there was collusion between attorneys, the police and the victims to score big settlements in civil claims against the police."It's almost looking like a money-making scheme," she said.In the 2013-2014 financial year the police spent R291-million on legal fees.Phiyega said the police had retained forensic auditors to check the validity of claims.Economic Freedom Fighters MP Diliza Twala asked Phiyega whether the police could afford to have dashboard cameras installed in police vehicles.The cameras, similar to those installed in police vehicles in the US, would be used to monitor and record the police's movements and actions.She said police cars had tracking systems which recorded their location and how fast they were being driven.She said she had been impressed by the technology installed in cars belonging to British American Tobacco."They have CCTV cameras inside the car, which record everything and are able to pick up what has gone wrong," she said.She said the police and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research were "scanning the market" for technology that would support police "processes"...

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