Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has urged police bosses to execute their duties accordingly and be stringent at their respective police stations.
Addressing more than 1 000 police station commanders on Tuesday, President Zuma said police bosses must build new ways of working and be committed to winning the war against crime.
"In building the new culture of hard work and commitment, we urge you to manage, lead and command your stations in a manner that eradicates all negative influences that will make it impossible to defeat.
"Absenteeism, laziness and tardiness in the discharge of duties must be a thing of the past. We must also seriously eradicate corruption within the police force," he said.
President Zuma emphasized that in order to see progress in the fight against crime the legendary loss of dockets, which leads to botched cases must come to an end.
"Fortunately, with the development of electronic docket and electronic filing systems within the South African Police Services, which is being undertaken, this type of corruption will be dealt with," the President warned.
The President said he also received complaints from his Hotline that some of the police stations were ineffective; adding that sometimes even the 10111 emergency line goes unanswered.
President Zuma labeled these responses as "problematic", adding that it was the duty of station commanders to ensure that this does not happen as this hinders service delivery.
"They (public) claim that they normally see police vehicles parked in places where they shouldn't be, for example in supermarkets, taverns and other shopping and social areas during working hours.
"I get all these snippets from the Presidential Hotline and from my meetings with the public in various areas," he said.
President Zuma is meeting police station commanders to discuss strategies that can be used to help combat crime.
The fight against crime is one of the five key priorities of government. During the meeting, a first of its kind, the President will share his vision with the station commanders and get a first hand account of work from the coalface.
The meeting forms part of President Zuma's intention to meet with public servants, who are in the forefront of service delivery, to ensure that they understand government objectives from the highest office.
All nine provincial premiers and the MECs responsible for community safety are attending the event.
