What to do when flagged down by a ‘cop’ in South Africa?

South African Police Service
South African Police Service

In a civilized country this must seem to be a silly question to ask, but this is not the case in South Africa. In South Africa stopping can cost you your life. South Africa is a crime ridden country.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) employs convicted criminals.

“The number of officers who have criminal records is disturbing, there are more than 1 000 of them, and we are not talking about simple traffic fines here,” Dianne Kohler Barnard, the DA police spokeswoman said.

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To get back to the original question on what to do when flagged down by a ‘police officer’ in South Africa:

The best and most logical option is to stay away from South Africa.

If you do decide to travel to South Africa you might be interested in the advice from Metro police and the South African Police Service:

This is advice from Metro police spokesman senior superintendent Eugene Msomi:

Advising motorists on what procedure to follow if they were not comfortable with stopping after being flagged down by an officer, Msomi said they should not speed off.

“You should slow down, hand signal for the officer to follow you to the nearest police station, garage or safe public place. If it is a legitimate officer he will follow you. But if you speed off and try to outrun them, they will shoot you…”

This is the reaction from SAPS spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker:

“…if people felt uncertain about stopping they were welcome to drive to their nearest police station.”

Looking at the advice given I would opt for not visiting South Africa. At what stage do they decide you are trying to outrun them and start shooting?

If you do make it to the nearest police station you might just be assaulted and thrown in jail without a proper charge.

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According to SAPS spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker involvement of police officers in criminal activities does not happen a lot. This is strange as cases involving police are reported daily in the media.

Source

photo credit: Lens Envy via photopin cc

South Africa Travel – Travel Advisory