Parliament, Friday, 15 June 2018 – The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Francois Beukman, on behalf of the committee, has condemned, with the strongest possible terms, the attacks on the Eersterus Police Station by criminal elements.
He said the police must take the necessary steps to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to book. “Anarchy in the name of community protest cannot be allowed. Any attack on a law enforcement location is an attack on the constitutional order and should be dealt with accordingly,” said Mr Beukman.
Mr Beukman has again urged the police management to implement the necessary security measures at high risk police stations, including perimeter fencing, security gates and CCTV-cameras.
He said it is critical, from an operational perspective, that a specialised unit capability either Public Order Policing or Tactical Response Team should be at all-time be available in the specific police cluster if an eventuality of this nature arises.
Furthermore, Mr Beukman said that Crime Intelligence capability in the cluster should be more pro-active to ensure that any imminent threat against police stations could be detected early, especially if it is community-based.
“It is again that local community that will suffer if the police infrastructure is destroyed since resources cannot be reallocated from other priority areas. There is a duty on communities and community leaders to speak out against the attacks on law enforcement officers and police stations,” said Mr Beukman.
ISSUED BY PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON POLICE, MR FRANCOIS BEUKMAN
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