Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa says his officers are treated like criminals for shooting dangerous suspects and protecting the public, and this must stop.
He wants to reinstate apartheid-style law to give police more firepower to shoot and kill fleeing suspects.
But he warned "trigger-happy" policemen that it would not be a licence to kill.
In an interview with the Weekend Argus, Mthethwa said Section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act - which states police must only shoot if their lives are threatened - must be changed in the fight against violent crime.
| 'this government we work for will ask me why I did this' |
This, he said, would also miminise the killing of policemen and women.
More than 100 SA police were killed in 2006/07.
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"What Section 49, is doing as it stands, it allows criminals to flee. If they flee, then there's nothing you can do, because the law binds you. You get to a scene and the suspect is armed and is fleeing, in the process surprises happen. He will turn around the corner and shoot the police. If you say a policeman should feel (his) life is threatened, and you say if a suspect is fleeing while carrying a firearm then (the policeman's) life is not threatened. But when (the suspect) turns around and shoots the policeman, it's only then that you realise that you are being threatened and by that time (a policeman) has been shot dead," said Mthethwa.
The controversial section of the 1977 act, before it was amended, defined the killing of a fleeing suspect who had committed a serious crime as "justifiable homicide".
Mthethwa said criminals were using the law against the police to frustrate law enforcers. "We are saying in such dangerous situations we will be flexible, so that the police can use maximum force without these surprises happening. When (criminals) shoot the police, they boast about that, while the police are here to protect the public and to protect the property of the country. As long as (Section 49) is there, these criminals will have a field day," said Mthethwa.
The minister said he wanted to protect the police as the law currently criminalised them for protecting citizens and the country
"This is the fleeing (part) I have a problem with, giving criminals a right to do wrong things, but as long as they flee the police will face the law. Whether this robber has killed someone or done something else as long as he flees. They do all sorts of things, and then they flee. That tells you that it's clear that the police are not protected here and this is why at other times they hesitate and their hesitation costs them their lives because someone thinks twice because, 'this government we work for will ask me why I did this'," said Mthethwa.
The police, said Mthethwa, had to be defended against violent criminals. "It is painful when a policeman gets to a scene and shoots someone who committed a robbery (or who killed) a security guard. Now when that (suspect) has been killed (the policeman) has to face the law and they say 'you have killed someone' and they won't say 'you have protected the people'. He will be told what Section 49 says," he said.
But Mthethwa said such a proposal would not be a blank cheque for the police to act with impunity.
"There has to be evidence that this suspect was a danger to society and to property. If he had been let loose it would have been likely that someone would have died or someone had been shot," said Mthethwa.
He also wants Section 26 of the same act - which deals with the police entering premises to obtain evidence - to be amended.
This, said Mthethwa, made a joke of the fight against domestic violence and the abuse of women and children.
- This article was originally published on page 6 of Cape Argus on July 05, 2009
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