Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens get full police powers despite irregularities and complaints

12 Dec 2023

Gauteng’s controversial Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens have been declared peace officers, meaning they will have the power of arrest and can carry a firearm. Recalling the role of apartheid-era special constables, or ‘kitskonstabels’, independent policing expert David Bruce says there are ‘grounds for serious concern’.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services issued a short statement announcing its decision on an application by the Gauteng provincial government for the controversial Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens (GCPWs) to be declared peace officers and given formal legal powers under the Criminal Procedure Act.

According to the statement: “After conducting a thorough analysis of the applicable legal frameworks, it was determined that for the Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens to exercise peace officer powers, they must assume the same legal status as Gauteng provincial traffic officers. Provincial traffic officers currently carry out their duties within the ambit of their peace officer designation, supported by the necessary legal framework.”

Read Daily Maverick’s investigations into the Crime Wardens: AmaPanyaza: Instructors claim they were not paid as Public Protector confirms investigation

Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, said these powers were set out in a Government Gazette published in July 2011. In a post on X, Phiri said that their powers “will be limited to the powers conferred upon [traffic officers] and, in principle, relate to the policing of traffic matters.

“The policing of traffic matters falls within the power of a provincial government and this will allow the provincial government to retain control over the persons.”

However, the 2011 Gazette (see here and below) makes it clear that the GCPWs will have “all the powers conferred on a peace officer in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act”, as well as “all the powers conferred on a police official in terms of the CPA”.

This gamut of powers is extensive and includes the power of arrest and to carry a firearm.

According to the 2011 Gazette, a peace officer must have a certificate of appointment with their name, photograph, ID and the capacity in which they are appointed. But the Gazette says nothing about how peace officers must identify themselves publicly.

The peace officer powers were set out in a Government Gazette published in July 2011.

The Ministry’s statement added: “Minister Lamola, having engaged both the Minister of Police and the Premier of Gauteng province, thanked all the stakeholders involved for their collaborative and constructive efforts.”

Lamola’s acknowledgement contrasts markedly with the attack on him and/or Police Minister Bheki Cele by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi in November.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Amapanyaza: Gauteng premier launches extraordinary attack on minister of police

On Tuesday night Lesufi welcomed the decision, saying “this announcement finally clarifies the uncertainty over the status of the Crime Prevention Wardens. [It] affirms what we have said all along, that the CPWs are a legal, well-equipped provincial law enforcement body that collaborates with other law enforcement organisations in the province. They operate under the supervision of the other law enforcement agencies, ie Gauteng Traffic and local authorities.”

Lesufi’s statement does not appear to appreciate that before any formal integration of the GCPWs can take place, a new Government Gazette must still be published.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Combating crime effectively and within the law – a response to Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi

Practical implications for policing unclear

It is also unclear as yet what the decision to place the GCPWs under the traffic department, and not the SAPS, means – if anything. Presumably, it means they will no longer be placed at police stations.

Daily Maverick is seeking further clarity.

David Bruce, a respected independent researcher on policing, commented: “The effect of the Minister of Justice’s announcement that the Crime Prevention Wardens may be established as peace officers … is that they may now exercise all the powers of traffic officers, and most of the powers of police officers.

“While one may be inclined to welcome efforts to strengthen policing and reduce crime in South Africa, there are grounds for serious concern related to the probability that the wardens will be associated with corruption and other abuses of power. The manner in which they have been created, in the absence of any formal policy document setting out their intended role, appears reminiscent of the apartheid-era special constables, often referred to as ‘kitskonstabels’, who were commonly associated with abuses.

“Available evidence is that they are poorly trained and there is little effective management and command of the wardens. The fact that they exercise the same powers as traffic officers, and absence of meaningful systems to hold them accountable, creates a high risk that they will come to be associated with corruption and other types of heavy-handed, bullying and coercive behaviour.

“Despite claims that they only work under the supervision of the SAPS or municipal police, it appears that there is frequently no direct supervision of their activities. Traffic policing in South Africa is strongly associated with corruption. The CPWs will be exposed to the same opportunities for extortion and bribery as traffic police.

“Rather than contributing to greater respect for the law, there is a high risk that they will be yet another agency that undermines such respect.”

Ironically, the granting of such extensive powers to the amaPanyaza (as they have become known) comes on the same day that yet another controversy about their conduct engulfed the wardens. According to a report in News24, on Saturday evening a group of GCPWs assaulted and injured an off-duty police officer in Tembisa for drinking a beer in public outside his home.

News24 interviewed the officer, who reported: “They assaulted me and handcuffed me.”

“They told me I was under arrest and loaded me into a BMW X3, and we drove away.”

When he “told them he was a police officer and knew the law”, he was told “police officers are disrespectful” and they thought they “know everything”.

The police officer said he had opened a case against the wardens. This has been confirmed by the SAPS. DM

Declaration: Outgoing Maverick Citizen Editor Mark Heywood has joined the Change Starts Now movement. His last day with Daily Maverick will be 14 December 2023.

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Practical implications for policing unclear