It is unavoidable that civilians will die in the crossfire between police and criminals, Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula said as government on Thursday vowed to change the law to encourage police to use lethal force when necessary.
"In the course of any duty the innocent will be victimised," Mbalula told reporters in Parliament.
"In this particular situation where you are caught in combat with criminals, innocent people are going to die - not deliberately, but in the exchange of fire. They are going to be caught on the wrong side, not deliberately, but unavoidably."
He said there had always been collateral damage in the fight against crime and a recent spate of civilian deaths at police hands could not be blamed on the ministry's call for law enforcers to return fire when confronted with dangerous criminals.
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'Our job is to give people hope' "We cannot say to the police, retreat. We cannot say to South Africans, despair. Our job is to give people hope.
"Yes. Shoot the bastards. Hard-nut to crack, incorrigible bastards."
President Jacob Zuma said the government planned to "expedite" changes to Section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act in a bid to "limit the number of police killed by criminals".
Answering questions in the National Assembly, Zuma said the violent nature of crime in South Africa made it imperative to modify the law to give police greater clarity on when they can shoot to kill.
"The crime in South Africa is different from other countries... It is different from the point of the view that this one is violent, more violent than in any other part of the world.
'They are trying to change the law instead of fixing a bigger problem' "We are saying we need to fight crime and that when criminals are cornered they take out guns. They don't warn, they kill, and many police have died as a result of that.
"On that spur of the moment, what do you do as a policeman? Should you say, because I'm a very good policeman I am here, I have got a gun, but I am not going shoot you?"
Responding to concerns from the Democratic Alliance that the law change could see a return to the practice of "shooting unarmed citizens in the back", Zuma said the amendment would be in line with the Constitution.
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