Police officer march during the Independence Day [Eye Radio]

The traffic police department has detained 85 police officers over abuses against motorists in Juba, the director-general of traffic police has said.

In an exclusive interview with Eye Radio, Major General, Kon John Akot said his department has already dismissed 8 of the held officers with different ranks from the service.

“We have currently arrested 85 police officers. Eight of them are of different ranks. Some of them have ranks of second lieutenant and captain. We have dismissed them from the service and some have been taken to the court,” said Gen. Akot.

He revealed that his office discovered that some of the officers in custody were found not to be belonging to the traffic police.

General Akot said many impersonated themselves with the aim of wrongfully generating money.

“Not all officers indeed are thieves. But if there is any that we found doing things illegally, we will not let them just go. We will arrest them. If charged unlawfully – pay the money and ensure you are given a receipt. Report to us his or her details afterward,” said Gen. Akot.

He appealed to the citizens to report any cases of misconduct against them by the officers to his office.

“Let any citizen that happens to have been wrongfully charged without receipt by a police officer report to us. Tell us where it happened and we will arrest the officer,” said the director-general of traffic police.

Gen. Akot claimed that his department has formed a committee that is screening officers.

“We have a committee working on screening the officers currently. Those that are found to be against our policy will be dismissed,” he added.

Some of the challenges facing the traffic police service in South Sudan South is professional conduct by the officers. Achieving a high level of efficiency among the forces still requires a huge task.