Q&A

Police are reeling from the deadly attack on them in Ngcobo. Chris Barron asked national police commissioner Khehla Sitole ...

There have been several attacks on police stations. Why aren’t they better prepared?

They were fully prepared, but the station design is an inhibiting factor because they couldn’t see them from afar.

Sometimes they don’t wear their bulletproof vests but . . .

Why did they ignore warnings about this dangerous cult?

This cult has been happening in a church, and police would never have thought that a church could keep criminals like these. That is why the attack was unexpected.

Didn’t the community warn them that this church was harbouring criminals?

They complained about practices in the church which were not necessarily Christian-based. But the church only became a crime scene after the attack. That’s when we confirmed that it was harbouring criminals.

Could police have prevented the attack if they’d investigated these complaints?

The leader of this syndicate is not staying in that area. He operates around the country. When this incident happened it was two days after his return. Even if we had investigated, that syndicate wouldn’t have been there.

Is there a need for better crime intelligence?

There is a great need for better crime intelligence. One of my top priorities is to better our crime intelligence. That’s a process we are dealing with aggressively. It will start soon with the appointment of a new head of crime intelligence.

Do these attacks on the police speak to a lack of training?

Training is a continuous process. They can come out of the police college in a superb condition. If there is no continuous training and practising, their condition drops.

That is happening as I speak . . . Our police are highly trained. We are better trained than the criminals.

Are the police trained to handle guns?

They are. Make no mistake.

So why are so many officers not qualified to carry guns?

It’s not necessarily that they’re not qualified to carry guns. They get basic training at the college and they’re certified as competent gun carriers.

According to the police ministry almost 3 500 officers are not qualified to carry guns . . .

They must upgrade their standard. It doesn’t mean they’re not qualified to carry a gun. They’re competent and they can shoot.

Your new minister, Bheki Cele, says they must shoot to kill. Do you agree?

Where they are being shot at with the intention to kill them, they must shoot to survive. We are policing a democracy and they need to treat people with dignity. But if they get shot at . . . so it depends on the circumstances.

Why are there so many officers without competency certificates?

That number is reducing every day.

You’re the first career officer to hold this position in 20 years. Is this why there is such a low level of professionalism?

If you lose touch with basic policing principles then it is likely to result in the situation that you describe.