Municipal Police (South Africa)

[1] "Municipal police forces" were also established in some cities in the 1980s, during the apartheid era.

According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, these forces were not highly regarded, and had a reputation for "high levels of excessive and inappropriate use of violence, often arising out of drunken behaviour, ill-discipline and personal vendettas".

[1] Section 206 of the Constitution of South Africa provides:[2] National legislation must provide a framework for the establishment, powers, functions and control of municipal police services.The procedure for establishing a municipal police service is laid down in the South African Police Service Amendment Act of 1998.

[4] The biggest and most visible role of municipal police forces is traffic control.

In Johannesburg, the municipal police made headlines when they announced a hunt for a man who was using the social networking site Twitter to warn about police road blocks and speed traps, claiming that the man, known only as "PigSpotter", could be charged with obstructing justice.