Campaign against bent cops gears up

One in four drivers in Johannesburg has paid a bribe to a metro policeman and some have been told to pay as much as R3000 to avoid arrest.

The most frequent targets are taxi drivers and it is alleged that Johannesburg metro police prey on them because they carry cash when driving.

Announcing the launch of the "no more tjotjo (bribery) campaign" in Illovo, Johannesburg, yesterday, David Lewis, the executive director of Corruption Watch, said half of the JMPD's officers were guilty of soliciting bribes or otherwise corrupt.

Corruption Watch researchers interviewed 120 Johannesburg motorists, most of them taxi drivers, over about four months and incorporated data from previous research.

A 2010 survey found that 150 000 motorists in Johannesburg had admitted to paying a bribe. Lewis said that, though motorists were sometimes to blame for offering bribes, traffic officers had created an environment that promoted such behaviour.

"We often hear the excuse that the public is responsible for offering bribes," he said.

"But we look up to law enforcement officers to be accountable and exemplary. The public would be very reluctant to offer a bribe if they knew traffic officers upheld the law."

Lewis said he had brought the findings to the attention of the Johannesburg metro police, whom he accused of denialism about the extent of bribery and corruption.

JMPD spokesman Wayne Minnaar could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Lewis said that drivers often paid a bribe to escape paying more in penalties related to unlicensed vehicles, talking on a cellphone while driving or not being in possession of a warning triangle.

He said other bribes related to avoiding arrest for drunken driving and operating a defective vehicle.

The report recommended that JMPD directors acknowledge the magnitude of the problem, compel officers to wear identification tabs and allow motorists to report corruption anonymously.