CAPE TOWN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- South African Deputy Minister of Police Cassel Charlie Mathale on Thursday expressed concern over the increase in the number of police officers killed in the past few months.
The statistics of the current financial year have not been verified and released, however, from April 1 to May 31, a total of 17 police members have been killed on duty and off duty, comparing to the six in the previous financial year of the same period, Mathale told a virtual plenary sitting at the National Council of Provinces, the upper house of the parliament.
Various measures have been taken to address the issue, including police safety strategy, awareness programs among police members, he said, adding that police members have been urged to proactively take responsibility for their personal health and awareness and commanders have been urged to proactively pay attention to the well-being of their members.
Communication and marketing strategy was also developed to create awareness internally and externally, he added.
The deputy minister said the community has the central role to play in the fight against crime, in particular in the fight against killing police officers, calling on communities through mechanisms like Community Police Forum and Neighborhood Watch to work towards raising awareness against the crime within communities.
In May, Police Minister General Bheki Cele described the situation as "a crisis that is unfolding and has the potential to threaten the country's peace and stability."
In the first three months of this year, 24 police were killed, 11 of whom were killed on duty while preventing, combating or solving a crime, said Cele.
Some of them were attacked or ambushed while conducting patrols and their official firearms were stolen, according to him. Enditem