City Blues

This research paper examines corruption within South Africa's Metropolitan Police Departments (MPDs), highlighting a high prevalence of bribery in traffic enforcement. It compares the anti-corruption strategies of six major MPDs, noting that while some (like Johannesburg) have adopted tracking technology and hotlines, systemic issues persist. These include the use of inadequate general council disciplinary codes instead of police-specific codes, limited investigative and entrapment powers compared to the national SAPS, and a tendency for management to rationalize corruption as being driven by the public's willingness to pay bribes.

• Corruption is perceived as highly prevalent in South African policing, particularly within traffic regulation enforcement. ISS national victim of crime surveys indicate that 'traffi c fi nes' and 'policing' are the two public service spheres where bribes are most frequently requested by officials.
• The introduction of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (AARTO), piloted in Johannesburg and Tshwane in the second half of 2008, is expected to increase the likelihood of bribery. This is because drivers facing the suspension or withdrawal of licenses due to a demerit point system may feel more pressure to pay bribes to avoid these penalties.
• The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) is the largest MPD, employing 3,115 staff (including over 2,200 officers). It has implemented several proactive anti-corruption measures, including a dedicated anti-corruption hotline, public education campaigns, and the use of electronic tags and tracking devices in patrol vehicles to monitor officer movements.
• There is a significant disconnect between the perceptions of JMPD management and actual disciplinary data. While the head of Internal Affairs claimed '99 per cent of offi cers are clean', data from 2001 to late 2007 shows that 90 officers were dismissed for corruption, representing approximately 4% of the 2007 staff complement.
• The Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD) utilizes three distinct units for corruption regulation: the Conduct Investigations Unit (CIU), the Civilian and Internal Affairs Unit (CIAU), and an Inspections section. In March 2008, the TMPD merged with Fire Brigade and Disaster Management Services to form the Department of Community Safety.
• A major systemic obstacle to disciplining MPD officers is that they are governed by general city council disciplinary codes rather than specialized police codes. This results in 'soft' punishments for serious offenses and allows councils to prolong disciplinary procedures, sometimes resulting in guilty officers returning to work because of a three-month maximum suspension limit.
• MPD investigators lack the full investigative powers of the South African Police Service (SAPS). Consequently, criminal cases must be handed over to overburdened SAPS detectives, which often slows down the process and can lead to cases being partially investigated or withdrawn.
• The ability to conduct entrapment operations is severely limited because MPD units generally cannot trap officers without prior orders from the Director for Public Prosecutions. This is viewed by some units as a major restriction on their independence and ability to remove corrupt officers.

APA

Faull, A. (2008). City Blues. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper170.pdf

Chicago

Faull, Andrew. City Blues. Institute for Security Studies, 2008. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper170.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Faull |first1=Andrew |title=City Blues |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=November 2008 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper170.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{faull2008city, author = {Faull, Andrew}, title = {{City Blues}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2008}, month = nov, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper170.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }