Katlego Sekhu

On Wednesday morning, Willem Els from the Institute of Security Studies joined Siz The World to speak about how civil society can handle incidents of police brutality and abuse of power.
This follows numerous incidents of traffic cops intimidating motorists.
Els pointed out that while most police officers are doing a great job, there are a few bad apples. He mentioned that a big issue is that people who don’t know the law and their rights can end up being intimidated.
Visibility is key
Els stressed that police officers need to be visible and easy to identify.
“What is very important is that we should remember in the standard operating procedures and the regulations of the police services, whether it is the South African police service or the traffic police service, that they should wear uniforms and they must be identifiable.
“That means that they have to wear a visible name tag, where you can identify the person and the surname of the person who is approaching you.”
Also, officers should always have an appointment certificate on them
“The second thing is that the particular police officer has to carry what is called an appointment certificate. That appointment certificate will be a photograph of this person, as well as his name, rank, and designation.
“If they do not do that, they are not acting in the presence of the law.”
Can You Record the Police?
According to Els, the POPIA Act allows you to record a conversation if you’re part of it. “They do not have any law backing them that you may not record them. They have no authority to stop you.”
Safety against people pretending to be police officials.
There have been cases of criminals pretending to be police officers, so Els advises keeping your car locked and not rolling down your windows completely.
” Open your window so that you can speak to them and that they can hear you.
“If you don’t feel safe, you can inform them that you are travelling to the nearest police station and that they can follow you.”
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