Cape Town – The Western Cape government has increase the reward to R100 000 for any information resulting in the arrest and successful conviction of police killers in the province.
“In the past week three police officers have lost their lives, some even while responding to the needs of the community they serve while on duty. My sincerest condolences go out to the family, friends, and colleagues of those who have lost their lives,” community safety MEC Dan Plato said on Sunday.
“The Western Cape government condemns cop killings. While we have no operational control over SAPS [South African Police Service] our government is committed to supporting the hard working officers who put their lives on the line every day to protect others.
“This reward should be a strong warning to anyone wishing to harm the brave men and women who serve our communities – there are now an extra 100 000 reasons why you will not get away with it,” he said.
Though no reward would bring back the fallen officers to their loved ones, he hoped that anyone with credible information on the incidents would do the right thing and help the police and law enforcement authorities.
It was important to remember that police killings, however unrelated, remained the vicious acts of individuals who did not represent the sentiment of the broader community.
Only a few in society were responsible for these crimes. Those responsible for the crimes were, however, someone’s child, someone’s sibling, or someone’s neighbour, and these were the people that needed to break their silence and help the police. Any information should be reported to the SAPS Crime Stop number on 0861 10111.
“We will not allow cowardly criminals to get away with their crimes unpunished. We will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the people of the Western Cape and our police officers,” Plato said.
African News Agency (ANA)