The Portfolio Committee on Police is very concerned about the attacks on three police stations during the last five days in different parts of the country. It calls for urgent steps to be taken by the Acting National Commissioner and the Provincial Police Commissioners to address this worrying trend.

The Committee says the killing of two policemen at the police station in Koffiefontein in the Free State and the gun attack on a policeman at a Cape Town police station cannot be tolerated and is condemned in the strongest possible terms.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the policemen killed and the injured policeman,” said the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Francois Beukman.

The attacks show that criminals have no respect for the institutions that are established to uphold law.

The Committee is of the view that the budget recommendations of the Committee of 2017 should be implemented as a matter of urgency. These include:
1. The installation of CCTV cameras at the community centres of SAPS stations country wide.
2. The allocation of body cameras and security technology to all frontline visible policing staff at stations.

Mr Beukman says it is also critical that the SAPS Management Intervention Unit reviews the current security protocols at police stations to improve security.

The Committee will ask the SAPS management to brief it on the implementation of security measures at police stations at the end of July during the Committee’s oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal.

 

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committe on Police, Mr Francois Beukman