Standing orders form an inherent part of the traffic law enforcement authority’s regime of mechanisms to ensure that the conduct of officers, and civilian staff conform to a minimum standard as prescribed. Standing orders ensure that officers operate in a predictable manner that conforms to institutional objectives. Collectively they promote professionalism and provide citizens assurance that officers cannot act in a manner that infringe on their constitutional rights. The standards contained in this Code are minimum prescripts that must be introduced by each traffic law enforcement authority.
3.1 Insubordination
| (a) |
A lawful order is any order of a superior officer requiring performance of a specified duty by a subordinate officer, provided it is not prohibited by law or contravenes the policies or rules and regulations of the traffic law enforcement authority. |
| (b) |
An officer's failure or refusal to obey a lawful order issued by a superior officer is strictly prohibited. |
| (c) |
Insubordination means:— |
| (i) |
Defiance of authority by word, act or demeanour; or |
| (ii) |
Without lawful excuse, refuse, disobey, omit or neglect to carry out any lawful order. |
| (d) |
When an officer receives a conflicting order from a superior, the officer must inform the superior officer of the conflict or potential conflict. |
| (e) |
The superior officer must clarify the order made in line with (d) above. |
| (f) |
Officers must not obey any order which they know or should know, would require them to commit any illegal act. |
| (g) |
An officer who is in doubt about the legality of an order must request the issuing officer to clarify the order or confer with a higher authority. |
| (h) |
An officer alleged to have being insubordinate, may be summarily suspended and subject to disciplinary action by the traffic law enforcement authority. |
| 3.2 |
Abandonment of duty or assignment |
| (a) |
Employees must not abandon their assigned duties or leave their area of patrol unless properly relieved or dismissed by a superior officer. |
| 3.3 |
Giving names and other information |
| (a) |
Employees must politely give their name and other pertinent identifying information to traffic law violators or any other person who may legally request it. |
| 3.4 |
Leaving jurisdictional boundaries |
| (a) |
Officers may not exit the jurisdictional boundaries of the traffic law enforcement authority whilst on duty, unless this is required in the execution of their duties or upon the direct order or permission of a supervisor. Officers may go beyond jurisdictional boundaries only in the case of authorised operations, in pursuit of an offender and in the case of an emergency. |
| (a) |
Stealing, altering, forging or tampering with any law enforcement record, report or notice, is a criminal offence. |
| (b) |
The removal of any record, card, report, letter, document, or other official file from the traffic law enforcement authority, except by process of law or as directed by the chief traffic officer, is a criminal offence. |
| (c) |
Unless properly authorised, the obtaining or duplicating or attempting to obtain or duplicate information from any official file, sources or reports, is a criminal offence. |
| (a) |
Employees shall not make false reports, either oral or written. |
| (b) |
Employees shall not wilfully or knowingly depart from the truth in any manner, including giving testimony about official duties. |
| 3.7 |
Unauthorised persons in vehicles |
| (a) |
No person other than an officer or authorised member of staff, a detainee, or persons on authorised official business, are permitted to ride in traffic law enforcement authority vehicles. |
| (a) |
Absence from work without permission is prohibited. |
| (a) |
Whenever an officer who becomes ill and cannot report for duty, shall notify his/her employer in terms of the applicable conditions of service. |
| (b) |
The use of sick leave without just cause, or the furnishing of any false information regarding an officer’s physical condition, is prohibited. |
| (a) |
Complaints by employees regarding a traffic law enforcement authority’s activity, must be resolved through internal grievance procedures. |
| (b) |
No employee shall publicly criticise a traffic law enforcement authority’s policies, operations, or staff in a defamatory, obscene, unlawful, or untruthful manner. |
| (c) |
Criticism that tends to prejudice the operations of a traffic law enforcement authority by reducing organisational efficiency and discipline, is strictly prohibited. |
| 3.11 |
Abuse of official position |
| (a) |
Employees shall not use their official position for political purposes, nor engage in political activities whilst on duty or in uniform. |
| (b) |
When expressing views, an officer shall not associate his/her position as an employee of the traffic law enforcement authority or represent views as those of the traffic law enforcement authority. |
| (c) |
The above does not prohibit employees from exercising their constitutional rights as citizens to vote, express opinions privately, being a delegate or member of a political caucus, or taking part in political polls. |
| 3.12 |
Political involvement |
| (a) |
An employee who is not on duty and who is not in uniform may engage in political activities other than:— |
| (i) |
Soliciting or receiving funds; |
| (ii) |
Political activity that places or is likely to place the officer in a position of conflict of interest; or |
| (iii) |
Utilisation of official resources for political purposes is prohibited. |
| (b) |
Prior to becoming a candidate for political office, an employee shall request leave of absence without pay from the traffic law enforcement authority. |
| (c) |
During his or her campaign, an employee shall not represent himself/herself as a member of the traffic law enforcement authority. |
| (d) |
An employee who is elected to a political office must resign as an employee before serving in the office to which he/she was elected. |
| 3.13 |
On- and off-duty; ethics |
| (a) |
Engaging in conduct, on or off duty that tend to bring the traffic law enforcement authority into disrepute or prejudice the operation or efficiency of the authority, is prohibited. |
| 3.14 |
Possession or use of alcohol |
| (a) |
Employees shall not be in possession of/or use alcoholic beverages whilst on duty other than with the explicit authorisation of the chief traffic officer. |
| (b) |
When called, an off-duty officer that has consumed alcoholic beverages, must inform the superior officer who called him/her, of such consumption. |
| (c) |
When an officer is suspected of having consumed alcoholic beverages whilst off duty, he/she must be given a sobriety test, and only allowed to assume his/ her official duties after passing the test. |
| (d) |
The sobriety test must be recorded on the “Alcohol Test Record Form” as prescribed. |
| 3.15 |
Possession or use of controlled substances |
| (a) |
The possession or use of controlled substances by an employee whilst on or off duty is prohibited. |
| (b) |
Officers may possess and ingest prescribed controlled medications under the guidance of a licensed medical practitioner and with the knowledge of their immediate supervisor. |
| (c) |
Whilst on duty, an employee shall not use or be under the influence of any medication that may impair or compromise his/her ability to perform official duties. |
| (d) |
If an officer uses any medication that may impair or compromise the ability to perform assigned duties and responsibilities, the officer may be assigned, at the supervisor's discretion, to a light duty assignment. |
| (e) |
If reasonable suspicion exists for believing an employee is in violation of this rule, he or she should be ordered to submit to blood or urine testing. |
| (f) |
Failure of an employee to submit to a blood or urine test may result in disciplinary action being taken for insubordination. |
| 3.16 |
Gifts and gratuities |
| (a) |
Employees shall not solicit or accept any gifts or gratuities. |
| (b) |
Employees must immediately report to the chief traffic officer or a supervisor, any solicitation or acceptance of gifts, gratuities, or bribes by other employees of the traffic law enforcement authority. |
| (c) |
An officer shall recuse himself/herself from any official action or decision-making process which may result in improper personal gain, and this must be properly declared by the employee. |
| 3.17 |
Solicitation of favourable acts |
| (a) |
Employees shall not solicit anyone to intercede with their colleagues regarding law enforcement promotions, assignments or disciplinary proceedings. |
| (a) |
Employees are expected to meet their civil financial obligations. |
| (b) |
Employees shall not establish any financial relationships that poses conflict of interest or compromise the image of the traffic law enforcement authority. |
| 3.19 |
Prohibited association |
| (a) |
Officers in uniform are prohibited from visiting places that may compromise the traffic law enforcement authority’s image, except as required in the performance of their duties. |
| (b) |
Officers must not associate with persons or organisations which would be detrimental to the image of the traffic law enforcement authority, including persons who are under criminal investigation or indictment, or who have an open and notorious reputation in the community for criminal activity. |
| (c) |
Employees must refrain from joining or affiliating with any organisation, association, or group which would prevent the full performance of their law enforcement duties. |
| 3.20 |
Residential address and contact details |
| (a) |
Any officer performing a standby service must always be reachable by radio, telephone, cell phone or any other means of communication. |
| (b) |
The traffic law enforcement authority must maintain a listing of each employee's address and contact details. |
| (c) |
Each officer must notify the traffic law enforcement authority of any change in address or contact details. |
Statistics Act, 1999
