Leading the war on crime

THE CRIMINAL onslaught against the police continues – almost daily officers are killed or wounded either in the line of duty or while going about their private business. That gunmen feel no compunction in gunning down officers of the law is symptomatic of a society that runs the danger of holding life as being without value, and as violence being the best and easiest path to enrichment.

If criminals regard the life of a policeman or -woman as being nothing more than an irritant to be snuffed out, then what hope have we as civilians? Police authorities have bemoaned a lack of training, and the refusal of some police officers to wear bulletproof vests as required by SAPS regulations. Police on the beat will in return talk about being issued with ill-fitting and cumbersome equipment, but what of the citizen going about their business, most likely unarmed and certainly sans bulletproof vest?

The truth of the matter is that police are far more at risk, being charged with hunting and apprehending these murderous gunmen. But whether you are a policeman or a civilian, you deserve more than what is being done regarding what is described as the fight against crime.

This battle must be waged with the example set from the top – and having a succession of politically appointed police commissioners dismissed for reasons ranging from corruption to maladministration has hampered both the force and the pursuit of its most vital mission.

Now a massive cloud hangs over the latest incumbent of the office of the national police commissioner, Riah Phiyega. Following the findings of the Farlam Commission into the Marikana massacre, President Jacob Zuma has asked Phiyega to make written representations to him as to why she should not be placed on suspension pending the outcome of an inquiry into her fitness to hold office.

Clearly the time has passed – if there ever was one – for politically connected civilians to be chosen to run the police services.

The crisis of crime demands that a strong, talented and experienced police officer be appointed to lead the police and re-invigorate the war on crime.