RELATED LINKS: Traffic fines - whom to contact Traffic policing is the responsibility of the Johannesburg Metro Police (JMPD), which was established in March 2001. The JMPD took over from the old Johannesburg traffic department. Whereas its predecessor only handled traffic violations, the JMPD is also responsible for policing crime and municipal by-laws. All uniformed Metro offices are empowered to issue traffic fines. Read more The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department Johannesburg has taken the initiative against crime by creating its own city police force, the Metropolitan Police Department. Made up partly of former traffic officers and partly of new recruits, the department's chief purpose is to make policing in the city "visible". The more than 1 300 officers target traffic offences, enforce municipal bylaws, combat minor crimes and provide a constant presence on the streets - freeing up the regular South African Police Services to concentrate on more serious crimes. Read more

Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400

Motorists urged to pay traffic fines July 31, 2003 By Bongani Majola THE Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) is owed more than R130-million in unpaid traffic fines, and more than a million motorists had committed traffic offences in the City over the past three years. Metro police chief Chris Ngcobo said this during a media briefing on Wednesday, where the JMPD annual report was presented to Johannesburg's executive mayor Amos Masondo. The JMPD had, nevertheless, collected a total of R78-million, exceeding the R48-million target set at the beginning of the 2002/2003 financial year, Ngcobo said. Ngcobo urged people to pay their fines. "We have in our database more than a million people who have committed traffic offences going back to 2000. Our doors are still open for them to pay because we want to cultivate a climate where people respect the law, a culture of payment." The metro police chief, accompanied by JMPD's senior management team including operations director Derek Masoek and human resource director Mathokoza Kgaswane, then took the mayor and media through a presentation that highlighted, among other areas, the structure of the department, enforcement trends, traffic violation statistics, arrests, firearm investigations and processions. One statistic the metro police chief noted was that more than two million motorists had been speeding through Johannesburg in the past year. The chief of police also announced that the contract with International Parking Meter Systems, in terms of which the company issued parking tickets on behalf of the metro police, had been put on hold. "After the intervention of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, whose concern was that law enforcement could not be left to a private company, we took over the responsibility of reading and payment of parking meters," Ngcobo said. The mayor and the JMPD issued a joint statement noting the progress made by the metro police department in "visible policing and quick response times", as well as the greater community awareness of the metro police. "Zero tolerance on misconduct and corruption within the ranks of the JMPD is still a top priority," the mayor read from the statement. "More than 86 members of staff of the JMPD have been charged or dismissed for various irregular practices such as fraud, corruption and bribery." A 24-hour anti-corruption hotline, 0800 203 712, had also been established. Print this Page Send an online postcard E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za