Rampant corruption within the South African Police Service (SAPS) is eroding public trust, weakening community policing, and making crime prevention nearly impossible, according to members of community police forums (CPF), criminologists and residents across several provinces.

Community policing forums (CPFs), residents and local councillors say police corruption has reached crisis levels, with many officers accused of working with criminals, taking bribes and ignoring reported cases.

For many South Africans, the people meant to protect them have become a source of fear and frustration.

“Corruption is rife within the police,” said Rosina Mosehla from Soweto. 

“We no longer feel safe because the people who are supposed to protect us are demanding money from us. The CPFs are trying, but the corrupt police make it impossible for them to do their work.”

Mosehla said community members are tired of waiting for change.

”We don’t know who to turn to anymore… We are supposed to trust the police – but who protects us from them?”

‘A situation where corruption has overflown’

South Africa has more than 1,100 police stations, but in many of them, corruption has become entrenched, community policing leaders say.

In Gauteng, Thokozani Jacob Masilela, chairperson of the provincial CPF board, said corruption by police officers and other law enforcement agencies had spilled over into community safety structures.

“Corruption of law enforcement agencies, including police and metro police officers, has created a situation where corruption has overflown,” Masilela told IOL News.

“At Johannesburg Central Police Station, corruption has even been adopted by the newly established crime wardens, to some extent even over CPF patrollers.”

Masilela said corruption in areas such as Johannesburg Central, and Hillbrow often involved officers demanding bribes from undocumented immigrants and unlicensed businesses.

“In Sandton and Rosebank, the corruption is more sophisticated, this is where big money and bigger dealings are happening. Police officers are in the pockets of those who have money and influence,” he said.

The result, he added, is a devastating loss of trust.

“When we report these incidents, some station commanders deny they are happening. They say it’s hearsay, but is it not their job to investigate?”

Political interference and inactive forums

Gauteng has 145 police stations and 142 active CPFs. Masilela said the remaining three, in Florida, Cleveland and Rosebank, had been crippled by political interference.

“Some politicians want to be part of the CPFs,” Masilela said. 

“That kind of interference makes it difficult to fight corruption or hold police accountable.”

The impact on morale, he added, is severe.

“It does affect CPF members, but we keep working. Often, police behave properly when we’re present at roadblocks, but once we leave, corruption starts again.”

Residents losing faith and turning to vigilantism

Local leaders say public confidence in the police has collapsed. 

Lyborn Ndou, ward councillor for Cosmo City, said the level of trust between the police and the community was “very poor”.

“When the community reports perpetrators, police take bribes, and the perpetrators end up killing the victim,” Ndou said.

“About 85% of police depend on bribes, and the community loses hope in reporting crimes. Sometimes they end up taking the law into their own hands.”

Residents say corruption also emboldens criminals, who know they can pay their way out of trouble.

 “People get arrested today and released tomorrow,” said one resident from Limpopo, Nthabiseng Matlou.

“That really breaks the relationship between the police and the community.”

KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has lifted the lid on alleged corruption within the SAPS, saying it involves high-ranking police officers, criminal syndicates, members of Parliament and the judiciary.

Mkhwanazi exposed the extent of corruption in the service, which has for years faced criticism for its rampant and widespread misconduct within its ranks.

‘Corrption has become elusive and detrimental’

Criminologists say the scale of corruption in SAPS is unprecedented and deeply damaging to public safety.

Professor Witness Maluleke from the University of Limpopo (UL) called it “elusive and detrimental”.

“The never-ending and evolving corruption cases within SAPS are detrimental, and it will take many years to curtail,” he said. 

“It strongly affects community policing because it dents citizens’ confidence and trust.”

Maluleke added that while oversight bodies such as the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service exist, their impact is limited.

“They strive for accountability and transparency, but corruption persists because enforcement and political will remain weak,” he said.

‘Whistleblowers at risk’

Criminologist Professor Kholofelo Rakubu, head of the Department of Law, Safety and Security Management at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), said corruption has fractured the relationship between SAPS and the communities they serve.

“Corruption within the SAPS has deeply eroded trust and made crime prevention significantly harder,” Rakubu said. 

“Community Policing Forums are struggling, and whistleblowers face real threats without robust protection.”

Rakubu said criminal syndicates had infiltrated SAPS, compromising investigations and enabling organised crime.

“This discourages genuine collaboration and turns CPFs into symbolic entities rather than active safety structures.”

She added that accountability mechanisms such as internal disciplinary processes are largely ineffective.

“They are slow and often undermined by internal politics. Oversight commissions expose corruption but rarely lead to swift justice.”

Rakubu called for structural reform, including an independent whistleblowing authority and stronger protection laws.

“The Protected Disclosures Act exists, but enforcement is inconsistent. Many whistleblowers lose their lives because there’s no real institutional support,” she said.

Some provinces fare better – others not at all

In Limpopo, CPF chairperson Frans Kgasago insisted that all 106 CPFs were active and working with the police. 

“As CPFs, our work is to be the eyes and ears of the police,” he said. “In our province, there’s no such corruption.”

However, even Kgasago admitted disappointment after four Limpopo police officers were arrested in connection with a house robbery in Mpumalanga, allegedly using police-marked vehicles.

“We were so disappointed when we heard that four police officers were arrested,” he said. “It destroys our confidence in them.”

In contrast, the Eastern Cape CPF chairperson Gonavan Buys said corruption was a “big problem”.

“We can’t even hold crime imbizos because corruption is bad,” Buys said. 

“When police officers are accused of corruption, it brings lack of trust and doubt. Around half of our CPFs are active but struggling, and 40% are not active at all.”

In the Western Cape, provincial CPF chairperson Francina Lucas said corruption within SAPS was “deeply concerning”.

“It exposes CPF members to serious safety risks and undermines trust and cooperation necessary for effective crime prevention,” Lucas said. 

“When integrity within policing is questioned, it weakens the foundation of community partnerships.”

A national crisis of trust

Experts warn that public disillusionment with SAPS threatens the very concept of community policing, a philosophy that depends on trust, transparency and joint problem-solving between police and residents.

The Community Policing Policy Framework outlines that CPFs should help establish partnerships, improve transparency and accountability, and promote cooperation between the service and the public. 

But when officers are accused of corruption, those goals collapse.

“Corruption discourages communities from reporting crimes,” Rakubu said. 

“People fear retaliation or believe nothing will be done. That loss of faith has become one of the biggest barriers to safety in South Africa.”

IOL News also reached out to the CPF chairpersons in provinces including Mpumalanga, North West, Free State and Northern Cape, but none had responded at the time of publication.

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

IOL News

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