Parliament - The country has again experienced a spike in service delivery protests, Police Minister Nathi Nhleko told MPs on Friday.
Tabling his budget vote in Parliament, Nhleko said: “Police resources were committed to 14 740 incidents of which 12 451 were peaceful and 2 289 turning violent.”
This was more than double the number of protests police officers responded to in 2007/08 when the number of protests stood at 7209.
“The fact of the matter is that these protests continue to strain the resources of the SAPS,” said Nhleko.
“We are also mindful that citizens have a right to air their grievances. However, society needs to understand that the solution to these protests do not lie with the police.”
ANA