Urgent need for security at police stations to be improved

THE effectiveness of measures introduced by SAPS management to ensure safety at police stations and that of SAPS members in general will be under scrutiny in Parliament this coming week.

I requested during last Wednesday’s portfolio committee meeting that the National Commissioner of Police, General Kehla Sitole, brief the committee on measures to increase security at police stations.

The attacks on police stations in Kareedouw and Mthahta during the parliamentary recess is a clear indication that there are gaps in the plan to address safety at police stations.

The lack of progress by SAPS with the implementation of a proactive national plan to install CCTV cameras at police stations, the upgrading of perimeter fencing and the installation of secure entrance gates is a huge concern to the committee.

Police management should move with speed and determination on this matter. Tactical training of station members and proactive crime intelligence are key to address the worrying situation.

It is evident that some criminal syndicates are targeting police stations that are not well secured to obtain firearms for criminal activity. Furthermore, the deployment of sufficient members during the weekend and on night shifts is also paramount, and station and cluster commanders should on an ongoing basis monitor the effectiveness of security measures at police stations.

I strongly condemn the killing of two police officers, Constable Lonwabo Kili and Constable Siyamcela Ncipa respectively, in Delft and Khayelitsha near Cape Town on Friday evening.

Once again, the need by criminals to obtain firearms from law enforcement officers was the driving force for the attacks. Community members with information on the location of the perpetrators and the stolen firearms should contact and inform their nearest police station.

It is again a confirmation that a group of criminals in the country do not subscribe to the rule of law and a constitutional state, and law enforcement agencies must ensure that these criminals are arrested and brought before the courts. The committee calls on the SAPS to ensure that the investigation is prioritised to find the killers of the policemen.

The committee expresses its sincere condolences to the SAPS, the families and next of kin of the two police officers.