Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane has warned that the South African Police Service cannot regain public trust while misconduct, abuse and unethical behaviour are tolerated within its own ranks.
Dimpane delivered the strong message on Friday while addressing the Operation Basadi parade at the Public Order Policing headquarters in Rosslyn, Pretoria, where she called on women officers to help drive accountability and organisational change within the police service.
She said professionalism, integrity, discipline, accountability and ethical leadership must be non-negotiable, warning that the credibility of the SAPS was ultimately determined by how its members behaved when exercising their authority.
“There can be no credibility in protecting communities from violence while tolerating misconduct, abuse or unethical behaviour within the organisation,” Dimpane said.
The warning came as Dimpane placed women at the centre of the SAPS’s efforts to renew the organisation and restore confidence among communities.
She urged women officers to become “active architects” of the police service’s Reset Agenda by challenging unethical behaviour, strengthening consequence management and mentoring younger members.
Dimpane said women should not only seek representation in senior positions but should use their authority to raise standards and demand accountability.
“Leadership is about accountability, competence, ethical conduct and the ability to deliver results,” she said.
Her message was directed not only at women officers but also at the SAPS leadership, with commanders urged to identify talent, develop women and give them meaningful opportunities to lead while ensuring that all members are held to the same standards.
Dimpane said transformation and excellence had to advance together.
She said the public judged the police not by what the organisation said, but by what its members did.
“Every interaction with a victim, every investigation conducted, every arrest made, every operational decision taken and every service rendered contributes to the credibility of the SAPS,” she said.
The Acting National Commissioner said the women participating in Operation Basadi represented a new generation of police professionals already operating across key areas of law enforcement.
She said women were leading on the streets, at crime scenes, in investigations, intelligence, command centres, specialised units and at the highest levels of operational decision making.
Operation Basadi, she said, demonstrated that women were commanders, strategists, investigators and decision makers rather than merely participants in policing operations.
Dimpane also linked accountability inside the SAPS to its response to crimes affecting women and vulnerable people.
She said Operation Basadi carried a particular responsibility in the fight against gender based violence and femicide, violence against children and human trafficking.
Female officers, she said, were often uniquely positioned to establish trust with victims and survivors.
But that trust had to be matched by professional investigations, victim-centred services, swift action and effective case management.
Dimpane warned that the SAPS’s credibility would be severely undermined if officers expected communities to trust them while misconduct and abuse were allowed to persist within the organisation.
She called for allegations of misconduct to be addressed “decisively, fairly and without fear or favour”.
The Acting National Commissioner also raised the issue of police officers’ wellbeing, saying accountability and operational performance could not be separated from the conditions under which officers worked.
She said women officers operated in high-pressure environments, encountered trauma, worked irregular hours and responded to victims of violence, while many also carried significant responsibilities outside the workplace.
“Looking after our people is not a departure from operational readiness, it is fundamental to sustaining it,” she said.
Dimpane called on commanders to create environments where officers could seek psychological and other support without fear or stigma.
She said occupational health, psychological support, trauma counselling, physical fitness and preventative healthcare needed to become part of the SAPS organisational culture.
For Dimpane, however, the responsibility for transforming the SAPS does not rest with senior management alone.
She challenged every woman on parade to use her position to inspire those coming behind her and open doors for other capable women.
She said women should lead with courage, serve with integrity, protect with compassion and act with discipline.
Dimpane also called on SAPS commanders to ensure that women were properly prepared for leadership rather than simply promoted into positions.
“The future of policing requires women who are not only visible, but influential; not only represented, but empowered; not only promoted, but prepared to lead,” she said.
She concluded by describing Operation Basadi as “courage in action” and “leadership in uniform”.
But beyond the symbolism of women taking centre stage, her message was a broader challenge to the SAPS to rebuild its credibility through conduct, accountability and ethical leadership.
Dimpane said the ultimate goal must be a police service in which women do not merely participate in policing, but help shape its future while ensuring that those entrusted with the power of the state remain accountable to the people they serve.
