Zero tolerance when it is convenient
I wrote about a series of arrests by Joburg Metro Police this morning on my Jacobson Attorneys blog. Candice posted a couple photos by way of an update to her post which really show just how selective this new “zero tolerance” policy is. This series of photos clearly show how two Joburg Metro cops turned their backs (literally) on two taxis which did exactly what got a couple ordinary motorists arrested and thrown in jail for a day with no repercussions whatsoever.
One thing for sure is that this is not the New South Africa we welcomed in 1994. We are increasingly caught between the criminals and the police and I am not sure who is worse. At least with the criminals there is no pretence of enforcing the law. You know it will go badly. The problem with the police is that you just can’t rely on them to protect us. We need someone to protect us from the police and short of a whole new generation of benign superheroes arriving, I don’t know who that is going to be.
What scares me is how the Jobug Metro cops laughed off a Pretoria High Court judge’s order that they release motorists arrested, at least until that judge ordered the arrest of the captain responsible and local commissioner for being in contempt of his court order. That is scary because it represents a complete breakdown in our justice system.
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arrest, arrests, police state, joburg metro police, johannesburg metro police, judges, contempt of court
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