Police killers will be apprehended and punished, says Minister Nathi Mthethwa
23 Jul 2013
The Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa today expressed deepest condolences to the family of a police officer who was ambushed and killed at Nyanga, Western Cape last night. The deceased and his colleague were on duty when they were attacked. The surviving officer was injured and is currently recuperating from hospital (see report).
The Minister strongly condemned this attack and vowed that those who committed this act will be apprehended and punished. "Those who seek to derail our crime-reduction efforts, merciless criminals whose intention is create anguish amongst us, shall not succeed. The war on crime is a people's war and as history has on many occasions indicated, the people become victorious in the end."
"We urge South Africans to rally behind our police officers. We can all begin to make a practical declaration by exposing those who kill our officers and not harbor them. As members of society from different sectors, we can play a crucial role in averting the escalation of crime and attacks on police officers," stated the Minister.
Minister Mthethwa stressed the fact that the officers were killed whilst on duty, serves as a harsh reminder of the kind of dangers our officers are faced with, on a daily basis. "Each year we gather as police leadership and management to commemorate and remember fallen heroes who refused to be discouraged by actions of heartless criminals. It is not a pleasant occasion."
He said such officers, in their pursuance of safeguarding the weak and the vulnerable in society, dedicate their lives, serve with excellence and remain steadfast in protecting and waging a war against crime. For this reason, any person who kills a police officer deserves a hefty punishment.
In July 2011, the Ministry of Police hosted a Summit against Attacks and Killings of Police, which involved various sectors academics, researchers, civil organizations, unions and other role-players. The summit outcome was a programme of action which looked at broad programmes, most of which are currently being implemented to avert police killings.
Some of the interventions include an establishment of a SAPS multi-disciplinary committee focusing on addressing the well-being of police members. The committee effectively manages investigations on killing of police, counselling of families, training and all other operational aspects.
As part of a strategy to prevent killing of police, SAPS has now issued national instructions pertaining to training, usage of bullet proof vests and deployment mechanisms during crime call-outs. This is informed by our research, which has pointed out to a lack of adherence pertaining to wearing of bullet proof vests.
There has been a misconception by some analysts that there is a shortage of bullet proof vests within SAPS. This is not true. For the record, there are over 200 000 bullet proof vests in the SAPS, which are more than the number of police officers. A concerted effort is being undertaken both internally and externally within SAPS to encourage police members to wear bullet proofs at all times and to further treat each crime call-up as serious.
Statement issued by Zweli Mnisi, Spokesperson to the Minister of Police, July 23 2013
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