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The South African Police Service (SAPS)
has attributed some of its remarkable
success in the fight against crime to
informants. Senior Superintendent
Selby Bokaba, spokesperson for the
national police commissioner's office,
says because of reliable information,
police have been successful in arresting
some of the country's most wanted
criminals.
He says police rely on paid
informants to divulge pertinent
information on the whereabouts of
elusive criminals.
According to him, many armed
robberies and other violent crimes were
foiled due to information supplied by
informants.
Any member of the public can be a
police informant, provided he does not
have pending criminal cases against him,
he said. The particulars of all
informants are confidential to protect
their identity.
They are paid the initial reward for
information leading to the arrest of a
criminal, and a further amount after the
criminal has been convicted, he said.
Meanwhile, national police
commissioner Jackie Selebi says money
paid to police informers should be
exempted from tax.
Addressing parliament's standing
committee on public accounts on
Wednesday, Selebi said no informer would
agree to provide information if required
to disclose his or her identity.
The whole system of receiving
information through an informant network
could be closed, he said.
Selebi said he had spoken to South
African Revenue Service (SARS)
commissioner Pravin Gordhan, about
taxing informer rewards. Negotiations
are still continuing.
According to the auditor-general's
latest report the payment of rewards for
information amounted to R36,4-million in
the 1999/00 financial year. |