An Insight into Traffic Police Corruption in South Africa: A Lack of ethical leadership?

Over the years traffic police officers in South Africa have been widely reported in the media to be involved in open and blatant corruption. They have allegedly been reported as soliciting bribes from motorists. Most drivers are willing to part with their money because their vehicles are either unroadworthy or may not have required driving documents. When illegal drivers ply, our roads there is bound to be road accidents resulting to a high death toll rates on roads, pedestrians are killed daily due to inexperienced drivers allowed by errant traffic police officers to ply our roads. This article has three aims as follows: First, to highlight the extent of traffic police corruption in South Africa, second, to look at a paradigm shift from blaming low ranking traffic police officers to holding senior or managerial traffic police officers accountable for the ongoing rampant and careless. Third, to find practical solutions to the bribery and corruption associated with traffic police fraternity. This research is a qualitative study with the participation of thirty traffic officers serving in Gauteng province South Africa, taking part in taped recorded interviews. Some of the findings are: First, senior traffic police officers are more corrupt that low-ranking ones. Second, if the South African government wants to deal with corruption, it must start from the top and not the bottom part of traffic policing. Third, corruption in traffic police is systemic and deeply entrenched from top to bottom. Fourth, a radical and imperative policy changes are needed to restore ethical leadership to traffic police fraternity in South Africa. Fifth, the use of technology to combat corruption must be part of the solution to fighting institutionalized corruption.