Residents joined an anti-crime march to Pinetowns Santi sports field, where they were addressed by Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa. Picture: Abhi Indrarajan
The minister of police inviting reluctant or lazy officers to resign because “there are plenty of other people who want these jobs” could be a sign of political will to support action being taken against tardy policemen.
Nathi Mthethwa had been reacting to a sobbing Thandazile Ntuli as she told him how she had been attacked and shot at 21 times at her house, and that police were dragging their feet in solving the attempted murder case. The resident of St Wendolins, near Pinetown, said her trauma had been made worse by the lack of police action.
There have been numerous stories about incidents in which police have not responded or of cases which stalled from a lack of action. The anger this inspires is directed at the police as a body, rather than those individuals who are clearly there just to be “have a job”.
Effective policing requires more than people doing the bare minimum. The really good officers are those who are driven to find justice for people who have suffered at the hands of criminals. They are the men and women who put in extra hours, hunt down those responsible for crime and make sure the cases they have investigated stand up to scrutiny in a court of law.
There is certainly a need for the police to be beefed up with men and women of this calibre, and those who are unwilling or unable to do their duty, must be actively rooted out.
If it is his intention to rid the service of people who are incompetent, unwilling or unable to fulfil their tasks, it is to be welcomed.
Mthethwa must be cautious when replacing them.
The police service cannot be filled with people who simply want jobs – which will leave gaps in the fight against crime for which the public suffer. It would also be an insult to those officers who pride themselves on doing the best they can.
Crime-battered citizens would welcome a clear-out of dead wood, particularly if they are replaced by officers who really want to do the job.
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