Mbalula’s shoot-to-kill call is no solution to SA crime
Chatsworth
EVERY day scores of school kids loiter on streets, around shopping malls, in parks etc.
School principals have given instructions to lock the gates after the opening school buzzer.
This creates a dangerous scenario. The kids are then left without any adult supervision until their transport arrives at closing time.
We so often hear of incidents of crime against children, drug abuse, date rape etc. It therefore boggles the mind how principals can have the heart to turn away latecomers.
We are aware of some kids who deliberately always arrive late. These delinquents just want to bunk classes and get up to mischief.
But there are also some kids who sincerely want to be in class but, due to unforeseen circumstances, arrive late. Why must these innocent children be thrown out on the streets to fend for themselves?
The majority of them rely on public transport to take them home. Buses don’t return until the end of the school day.
It’s time that SGBs, principals, civic bodies, metro police, SAPS, social workers, ward councillors, faith-based leaders and parents’ bodies come together to find a working solution to the problem.
Let’s not awaken one morning to find that a child that we all know and love is lying raped or murdered in a park while still in school uniform. POLICE Minister Fikile Mbalula’s statement on “Cops told shoot to kill” is not only reckless and irresponsible, but also encourages the use of violence.
It seems we are going back to our past.
From the onset, we as a community-based organisation do not encourage criminal activities.
There are various factors that contribute to the criminal scourge we experience daily in our communities.
The police service always seeks quick-fix solutions that cannot be sustained.
It is all well and good to state that police must shoot to kill, but, minister, did you examine the levels of training that are presently required for our SAPS officers to operate professionally? Is the shoot-to-kill statement also meant for our metro traffic and other traffic departments?
Shooting alleged suspect/s or innocent bystanders has its physiological and emotional bearings on any officer, the officer’s family, friends and the community.
Training for police officers should be ongoing, systematic, physical, intelligent and, above all, professional. The standard of policing should be the highest we can ever get, and those who do not make it should be discharged.
We are sure that very few officers have adequate training, and that training itself could be outdated.
The desire to be a police officer should not only be on payday.
The police service should not be a place where crime is generated and protected by officers.
Discipline at all levels of the police should be the core of the internal functioning of the police service, and the opportunities for criminal activities within the police should be rooted out at all cost and at all ranks.
The community policing forums should have clear policy guidelines on who can be part of the forum and all monitoring and evaluation should be done independently.
Functions and responsibilities of the policing forum should also be clearly documented.
Some community policing forums are known to cover up police corruption and incompetence and performing the functions of the police without the necessary training and powers in terms of relevant laws.
We are yet to see the strategies put in place to stop corruption and incompetence within the police service.
The cornerstone of our constitution is the Bill of Rights. This is one of the policies that form the foundation for policing, but daily we hear of people suffering at the hands of the police.
Minister, we are aware that your strong-arm tactic statement was just a PR exercise.
If you were serious about crime, you would have started with your 1 400 officers with criminal records who are still in service.
The shoot-to-kill statement would work in favour of the rich and burden the taxpayer more in terms of compensation for police brutality and loss of lives and/ or earnings at the hands of the police.
Police disciplinary cases can drag on for years at the expense of the taxpayer.
The minister can address this situation by continuously reviewing police interventions, such as the use of force and technological advances in terms of stamping out corrupt officers and the abuse of limited resources. Conduct criminal background checks on police officers regularly, and those who do not make the professional requirements should be re-designated into the civilian staff complement of the service.
If there is any law that you should be changing, it is the law to have a single professional police service centred on intelligent community-led policing and human rights.
An equitable police service that sees no colour or creed, and would always work in the interest of the most vulnerable groups in our country.