Ipid data reveals number of rape cases opened against police officers

24 January 2025 - 07:27
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Some cases involved police who were on duty and at police stations. File image
Some cases involved police who were on duty and at police stations. File image
Image: Elvis Ntombela

There were 110 rape allegations against police officers reported to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) in the 2023/24 financial year. 

An Ipid report shows 122 rapes - four while the complainants were in police custody - were allegedly committed by police officers during the 2022/2023 period.

This marked a 23% increase from the 99 cases reported in 2021/2022.

In the most recent case, a 35-year-old orderly working at the Blue Downs magistrate's court in Cape Town allegedly raped a female remandee while she was waiting to be transferred to Pollsmoor prison. The woman reported the incident to Pollsmoor correctional officers, leading to an investigation by Ipid.

A breakdown of the incidents in the Ipid report for 2022/2023 showed 43 of the reported rapes allegedly occurred while officers were on duty.

Gauteng reported the highest number of cases with 25 incidents, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 24 and the Eastern Cape with 17.

Ipid noted in the report it had completed investigations into 101 out of 192 active cases of rape by police officers. 

The chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on police, Ian Cameron, said harsh sentences should be imposed on police members who are convicted of rape.

"It is reprehensible and sickening that so many cases of gender-based violence can be perpetrated by people meant to uphold the rule of law or at a place of safety such as a police station," he said.

"Police officers are meant to be trusted by the most vulnerable, and committing such atrocious crimes erodes trust and undermines the rule of law."

TimesLIVE


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