In the wake of a bloody onslaught against police officers, Nathi Nhleko outlines plans to protect those who protect us.
Pretoria - The 20th century is full of the history of the struggle of Africans to achieve their freedom, human rights and their dignity as human beings.
That just struggle produced for our country the noble vision of one united, non-racial, non-sexist South Africa.
To ensure that the vision of the birth of a just society is rooted on the national agenda, our constitution is anchored on the Bill of Fundamental Human Rights, guaranteeing to all the right to life, human dignity and freedoms.
The spate of killings of policemen and women should be seen against that background: the denial of these rights to a section of our population who have, ironically, dedicated their lives to ensuring our safety at all times.
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Those who murder members of our police service, as well as members of society, do not respect the will of the millions of our people who, through the Bill of Rights, uphold every human being’s right to life, not only in law, but also as part of our lived reality and experience.
The continued killing of members of the police service is an attempt to undermine the legitimate authority of the state.
The fact that in this calendar year alone, about 60 members have been mowed down is unfathomable.
The killing of one member is one too many and, having seen the pained faces of the loved ones at the memorial service we held last week, I am now convinced more than ever that we need to be even more resolved in making sure these killings stop immediately.
When criminals cut short the lives of 27 police officers on duty and callously murder 31 loyal officers while off duty, they do not just deal a deadly blow to those individual members; they deal a blow to all of us, the nation at large.
Each member serves about 360 people. So, 63 killings have deprived 22 554 people of the safety they deserve. The 60 killed, so far, this year would have been responsible for the safety and protection of 21 480 people.
With the killings still continuing, it is natural for the leadership of the South African Police Service to respond to these callous killings by putting measures in place to ensure the safety of police officers on duty and, to an extent, off duty.
President Jacob Zuma, speaking at the annual SAPS National Commemoration Day on Sunday, September 6, called on police officers to defend themselves, to fight. However, he cautioned that this should and must be done within the framework of our constitution and the law.
Without seeking to pre-empt what the president sought to achieve when cautioning against disproportional force, he knew that our role as police is to:
* prevent, combat and investigate crime;
* maintain public order;
* protect and secure the inhabitants of the republic and their property;
* uphold and enforce the law;
* create a safe and secure environment for all people in South Africa.
* prevent anything that may threaten the safety or security of any community;
* investigate any crimes that threaten the safety or security of any community, as envisaged by the constitution.
We can safely surmise that the president knew that, despite the calculated murder and inhumanness by criminals, the constitution demands we conduct ourselves with probity, and within the framework of the law, when removing these scoundrels.
I am confident that the almost 200 000 men and women in blue have pledged to carry this obligation with distinction; that of ridding this society of crime.
The frequency with which police officers are killed, year in and year out, demands greater innovation to thwart the killings and as top police management, we intent to arrest this scourge and onslaught on our police.
A Police Safety Strategy was developed and implemented during the 2014/2015 financial year to address this unacceptable state of affairs in an integrated and multi-disciplinary manner.
A Police Safety Plan has been developed and will be implemented through a National Crime Combating Forum (NCCF) Instruction in due course to strengthen the implementation of the Police Safety Strategy.
An immediate Tactical Response Plan as special initiative was implemented in all provinces through NCCF Instruction on August 7 and the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) Instruction on August 25.
We have realised that the death of police officers is not as a consequence of criminals, but other factors contribute, which we could successfully manage.
Between 2012/2015, 688 police officers died as a result of unnatural death.
In 2012/2013, Visible Policing, Detectives Service, Operational Response Services, Crime Intelligence and Human Resources lost 93 police officers; 92 of them perished in an operational environment.
Zuma has directed that we do “everything possible to provide the police with the tools they need to fight crime effectively and to protect ourselves”.
We have taken heed of this instruction with speed, by hastily putting the following actions into place, especially for those who are in the cold face of crime.
The National Tactical Response Plan is to be immediately implemented to address the murders of police officers through on-site investigations assessing the circumstances of all officers who have been killed.
Station and relief commanders will ensure directives and standing orders regarding safety are implemented.
Inspections will take place to ensure officers have the right safety gear and they will be briefed on all possible dangerous suspects and potential situations when reporting for duty.
We have embarked on the profiling of suspects and identifying high-risk areas such as gang-infested areas, descriptions of dangerous suspects and suspicious vehicles and enhanced awareness among police members to strengthen operational and psychological readiness regularly. Furthermore, the leadership of the police has decided to ensure that adequate, serviceable resources and equipment are available to support and strengthen police members during deployment.
We have also realised there is a need to identify early warning signs of potential depression, stress, suicide, substance abuse, anger and relationship deficiencies and involved Employee Health and Wellness to strengthen psychological and emotional fitness of police officers on and off duty.
The leadership of the SAPS recently presented plans to the Portfolio Committee on Police to overhaul the SAPS in the wake of the Farlam Commission of Inquiry’s report. The aim is to ensure that, organisational culture, operating principles, equipment, policing protests, training, and demilitarisation are implemented.
We trust that these transformative actions and the revolution of the police will lead to a police service that we, and the generation to come after us, will be proud of.
* Nathi Nhleko is minister of police.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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