Maybe I should be taking this more seriously than I am, but the ability to buy flashing lights for the top of your car from China Town should be no surprise to anyone. It is well known that you can pretty much get your hands on anything imitating anything at one of the many shops.
While it is illegal to have sirens and strobe lights on top of your car, as they are reserved for emergency vehicles, it’s not illegal to sell them.
But in Durban, there is an increasing number of fake policemen, posing as officers, who pull over drivers and commit armed robbery or hijacking.
So the ability to purchase blue lights for a mere R300 is problematic.
It has been so [problematic] for a long time. We have had so many instances there where criminals pose as police officers by using police equipment, from uniforms, identity cards and certainly blue lights on their vehicles.
We have even had extreme cases where they have cloned police cars and this is something that is clearly outlawed in the Police Services Act and it makes it a criminal offence to be in possession of anything that gives the impression that one is an officer of the law when they are not.
Certainly those that sell this type of equipment should be criminally charged. There can be no other use of those blue lights than by those lawfully authorised to do so.
It has come to the attention of this office that there is a motor vehicle, a white Toyota Avanza, driving around in KwaMashu, Newlands East and in Greenwood Park areas robbing community members.
The occupants of the car, although not wearing police uniforms, used a car fitted with a police blue light and presented themselves as police members as they stopped unsuspecting motorists and robbed them.
News24 then went to buy the lights just to show how easy it was, below. Remember, if you’re sceptical about the police car pulling you over you can drive to the nearest police station.
[source: news24]
