Alleged docket sales raise questions over compromised criminal cases - IOL

Police dockets for sale. Ilustration.

The price tag of a police docket could range anywhere from R40,000 to R500, and the exchange can be as easy as meeting for a cup of coffee.

A former high-ranking police officer who worked in the serious and violent crimes unit revealed  that a suspect attempted to bribe him right outside a police station, asking for the case docket to disappear so he could evade arrest.

But, unlike his colleagues, he refused and warned the suspect that he would face arrest.

“He said he had a gift for me,” said the former cop.

“Inside an envelope was a large stack of money.

“I told him, ‘Do you know what I can do? I can have you arrested.’”

The sale of police dockets, either by police officers or state prosecutors, has attracted the attention of Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and the National Portfolio Committee on Police, as cases involving the alleged sale of dockets continue to grow across the country.

In the Western Cape, the highest known sale of a docket was R40,000, when two police officers sold it and were caught during an entrapment operation. The duo were sentenced more than a decade ago.

A key witness in the Madlanga Commission, suspended police officer, Fannie Nkosi's home was raided earlier this year, and six dockets were found there.

Police found four originals and two copies of dockets in his Wendy house. One of them related to the robbery of a British American Tobacco truck that went missing in 2016.

Earlier this month, Moeketsi Mokoena, a clerk at Phuthaditjhaba Magistrates’ Court in the Free State was arrested for allegations that he stole five police dockets relating to charges such as murder, rape, attempted murder, stock theft and sexual assault.

Police said the five dockets had been prepared for court proceedings scheduled for Monday, August 24, and had been locked inside the prosecutor’s office. When an official was instructed to collect them, they were found to be missing.

In May, in the Western Cape, a shocking discovery was made when a magistrate’s stamp and nine dockets were found inside a residence in Pelican Heights. A 37-year-old man was arrested.

Earlier this month, Delft police officer, Dumisani Laduma Diko was granted bail of R3,000 after being arrested and charged with theft and defeating the ends of justice for allegedly selling a police docket for R500.

Cachalia’s office said he would be looking into the allegations of corruption involving police officers selling dockets.

“As part of the Reset Agenda, the fight against corruption within the SAPS remains a strategic priority for the Ministry, as corruption undermines public confidence, weakens institutional integrity and compromises service delivery. The Ministry will cause the Acting National Commissioner to look into the allegations made against the said police officers,” said his spokesperson, Kamogelo Mogotsi.

DA MP Nicholas Gotsell, who serves as a member of the Select Committee on Security and Justice and a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, said the arrest of the police officer in Delft raised the question of whether those purchasing dockets would also face the long arm of the law.

“This case raises far more serious questions than the alleged sale of a police docket for R500,” he said.

“According to the charge sheet, the docket concerned an attempted murder case involving four counts, and the allegation is that it was removed from Delft SAPS and handed to another person in return for payment. The obvious question is: who bought the docket, why did that person want it removed, and has that person also been arrested and charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice?

“If the State’s version is that R2,000 was demanded and R500 was paid, then this was allegedly not a policeman acting alone in a vacuum. There was necessarily someone on the other side of that transaction. That part of the investigation must be explained.

“The new Provincial Commissioner has warned that corrupt officers will face consequences. This is now an opportunity to show that those words mean something. The public deserves to know whether this constable will be suspended or allowed to return to work, whether the alleged purchaser of the docket has been identified and arrested, and what has happened to the attempted murder case that somebody allegedly paid to make disappear.

“And for the public, every case like this chips away at confidence in the police. If an attempted-murder docket can allegedly be bought for a few hundred rand, people are entitled to ask a deeply uncomfortable question: how many other dockets, investigations and prosecutions have been interfered with that we simply never discovered?”

Zona Morton, director of operations for the Crime & Justice Forum, called for the punishment to fit the crime, saying that police officers were given a slap on the wrist.

“Corruption has many faces in SA but the most alarming face of corruption is when a police officer steeps so low to sell a case docket to a criminal,” she said.

“The disturbing fact is that this seems not to be viewed in a serious enough light by the SAPS Management itself. This is the highest form of betrayal to a victim of crime by a police officer who has sworn to serve and protect.

“Police Officers caught selling dockets should face an immediate expeditious process and the SAPS should show no mercy.”

Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais said the crime showcased an abuse of power by police officers, which had an impact on communities and cases.

“I am aware of the serious allegations involving the sale of police dockets reported at Delft SAPS and the case reported in Grassy Park earlier this year,” she said..

 “There can be no place in the police service for officers who compromise investigations, assist criminals or sell confidential case information. SAPS must continue to act decisively against these corrupt elements and ensure that those found guilty face the full consequences of their actions.”