Metro Police

The Metro Police In South Africa

In South Africa, the metro police have many duties. One of these is to enforce traffic laws and catch violations of these laws, and this can include traffic fines, speeding fines, and other traffic tickets. There are many who believe that the sole aim of the metro police is to generate an income, and not to prevent crimes and police the community in the usual sense. Traffic tickets may be issued by the police officers, or traffic offenses may be issued using traffic camera enforcement. Either way, traffic fines can be paid at most of the metro police offices during the usual business hours. Traffic control and direction also fall within the duties of these police departments. Lately the focus in many areas of South Africa has been on getting speeding drivers to slow down, as well as other aspects of crime prevention and traffic safety. In some instances the metro police officers have clocked speeders doing two hundred kilometers an hour or more, and these drivers are usually arrested on the spot. If the speed is seventy kilometers or more over the speed limit, there is normally a ticket issued by the metro police which requires a court appearance.

Metro Police And Roadblocks

In South Africa, roadblocks set up by the metro police are a common occurrence. If a driver owes traffic fines and a warrant has been issued, the fines owed can normally be paid at the roadblock when the driver is stopped. This can take care of the overdue fines and any warrants, without an arrest and detention by the metro police being necessary. Many South African drivers have reached a roadblock and received the unpleasant surprise that a warrant was issued for traffic fines which the driver did not even know about. Many drivers have complained that the metro police often do not follow the law or the time line concerning the notice of an infringement, and that there were traffic fines that the driver was never notified of. One way to prevent this is to check online for any traffic violations.

The Metro Police And Corruption

There have been many reports of corruption involving the metro police, and part of this corruption involves taking bribes for traffic offenses. Many drivers in South Africa carry money specifically for this purpose, and with the current demerit driving system being phased in this problem may become even worse if steps are not taken to eliminate corruption from the metro police. There have been a number of corruption scandals, including one in Durban where dangerous military weapons were found stored. Not all metro police officers are corrupt, and many will not take bribes or act in an unethical manner. There are officers who do profit from their position as a police officer though, and steps need to be taken to clean out any suspected corruption in all the metro police offices. This will allow the offices to operate as intended, with no crimes committed by the officers, and will improve the view that many in South Africa have concerning the metro police.

Sources:

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-153297573.html

 http://www.sabcnews.com/portal/site/SABCNews/menuitem.5c4f8fe7ee929f602ea12ea1674daeb9/?vgnextoid=da89ef7ad0001210VgnVCM10000077d4ea9bRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

http://www.allvoices.com/tags/metro-police