PRETORIA, South Africa, July 29 (UPI) -- A two-year audit of the South African Police Service revealed 1,448 active members have criminal records that include murder, rape and corruption.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said Sunday the audit by the Police Service and the Civilian Secretariat was completed Sunday.


Dianne Kohler Barnard of the opposition party Democratic Alliance called on Gen. Riah Phiyega, police commissioner, to act swiftly to dismiss all Police Service employees with criminal records.

"The DA [Democratic Alliance] has long highlighted the fact that criminals were not being dismissed from the South African Police Service once convicted. The fact that it took two full years to discover that these 1,448 criminal cops were on the payroll is a disgrace for which the minister of police must apologize," Kohler Barnard said Monday in a statement.

Mthethwa said a legal process will now be followed to "root out any unwanted elements within the police."

Mthethwa has given Phiyega three months to act on the outcome of the audit, the Pretoria, South Africa, News reported Monday.