Spare a thought for innocent victims

PEOPLE are quick to praise the police when alleged criminals are killed in shoot-outs. The consensus seems to be good riddance. But spare a thought for ordinary citizens caught up in the carnage of these gun battles.

In recent weeks, with the latest incident taking place yesterday, there have been four shootouts in KwaZulu-Natal in which robbers have been intercepted by the police during robberies or cash-in-transit heists.

More then a dozen alleged criminals have died and several police officers have been injured. In yesterday’s incident three men were killed and seven others arrested in a shoot-out with police on the N2, between Harding and Kokstad.

The gang were allegedly on their way to commit a cash-in-transit robbery when stopped.

Earlier this week, two bystanders were shot in a shoot-out between police and robbers during a cash-in-transit heist in the Springfield and Parlock areas. At least five suspects were killed. One bystander suffered major vascular and abdominal injuries while another was hit in the arm.

Elsewhere in this paper we carry an interview with Debbie Stephen, another innocent bystander, who suffered terrible injuries when her car was smashed into while robbers rammed a police vehicle through the barrier into oncoming traffic during a shoot-out on the N2 on August 5. Several robbers died and officers were injured, while traffic was gridlocked for hours.

Stephen was trapped in her car. Aside from trying to recover from her ordeal she is also battling to pay her medical bills.

She was going about her business but landed up being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Police have been praised for the success of their recent crime intelligence-driven operations against these gangs.

But there is a legitimate concern that in their hyped-up state, anticipating the need to defend themselves when criminals shoot at them, that in their eagerness to get their targets, not enough care is being taken to avoid harming the public. They need to show they care about innocent by-standers. If necessary, they need more training.