Sitole told Parliament that an “independent” discipline unit needs to be established The Portfolio Committee on Police has heard that discipline management needs reform to address loopholes and the conflicts of interest which protect police officers accused of violence from facing consequences. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks National police commissioner General Khehla Sitole has admitted to Parliament that discipline management at the South African Police Service (SAPS) needs to be overhauled. This comes after MPs used findings from a recent Viewfinder investigation to question SAPS about its continued reluctance to discipline officers implicated in violent crimes. Sitole told a meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Police (PCP) dedicated to the topic of police “discipline management” last Wednesday that police discipline regulations needed to be amended and that SAPS needs an “independent” discipline unit. These reforms could help address the loopholes and the conflicts of interest, which were shown by Viewfinder’s investigation to protect police officers accused of violence from facing consequences.