Amendments to section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act are aimed at clarifying ambiguities, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Wednesday.

"The amendments to section 49 are aimed at clarifying ambiguities. We need to point out that many in our society, including the media, have sensationalised and misinterpreted this issue," he told business leaders in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Government has proposed legislative changes to Section 49 which Mthethwa previously said were meant "to zoom in" and take specific measures against a specific crime.

As the law stands police are allowed to use lethal force only if their lives or those of innocent bystanders were in danger.

They are not allowed to shoot at fleeing suspects or those suspected of having committed serious crimes, as was the case before the Constitutional Court struck down the apartheid-era version of section 49.

Mthethwa said on Wednesday: "There has been a general failure to recognise that the use of deadly force already applies in the current section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act."

He pointed out that the amendment was not intended to allow for trigger-happy police officers, but the clarifications would assist in ensuring that law enforcement officers were better able to understand their responsibilities.

"Once effected, the changes will leave police in a situation where they will be less open to uncertainty when applying force.

"It needs to be made clear that the amendments to section 49 speak to our ability to deal with violent criminals who place lives of both police officers and the public in danger."

Mthethwa said Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA) needed to improve its reach to as many businesses as possible in its efforts to fight crime.

He said among the problems still confronting the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) was the need to improve its efforts in bringing down crime within the small business sector.

In this regard, there were various ongoing projects around the country, whose focus was to look at ways in which to reduce vulnerabilities amongst the medium and small business environment.

"Without suggesting the overstretching of the resources of business, it is nevertheless crucial that the interpretation of the interests of the business community should also be enlarged to encompass the need for broader social stability, peace and development," he said.

He said crime-fighting initiatives rely on strong partnerships, adding that in using the resources, skills and capacity of partners, police can find ways of maximising their strength and at the same time minimising their weaknesses.

The SAPS and BACSA were engaged in a process of defining and formalising their partnership against crime.

"We envisage that at the end of this process, a memorandum of understanding will be entered into. To this end, a draft memorandum has been developed and is being considered by the parties," he said.