Parliament, Tuesday, 20 August 2024 – The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Ian Cameron, welcomes the swift action by members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) that led to the arrest of one police officer and the fatal wounding of several other suspects, some of whom are members of the SAPS, for a robbery in Ntuzuma.
“The arrest of the SAPS member highlights the urgency needed to root out corrupt and criminal elements within the SAPS. It is unacceptable that some police officers are engaged in criminal activity despite being paid to enforce the law. The sooner these criminal elements are removed from the SAPS the better,” Mr Cameron said.
It is also concerning that in the shootout with police, one of the suspects used a state-issued firearm belonging to one of the suspects. Furthermore, the fact that the officer provided SAPS uniforms to the other suspects underscores the complete disregard for the position entrusted to them as a law enforcement officer, a disregard of our country’s laws and impunity for the code of conduct of the service.
The Chairperson emphasised the importance of intelligence-led policing and collaboration with communities and private security to fight crime. “The fact that the SAPS used intelligence information and community-shared information in response to the robbery points to the need to strengthen these relationships in efforts to fight crime,” Mr Cameron concluded.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON POLICE, MR IAN CAMERON.
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