Cape Town — Newly appointed national police commissioner Bheki Cele used his first appearance in Parliament yesterday to reinforce the call for the law to be changed to make it easier for police to use lethal force , and called for MPs to assist in the process.

Cele's repeated calls for these changes are an indication that the government is determined to make it easier for police to use force .

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa started the ball rolling during debate on his budget vote in June by calling for section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act to be changed.

Yesterday Cele told Parliament's police committee he also wanted another section of the act to be changed to allow police to make forced entry into private propert y. He said section 26, which requires a homeowner's permission before police can gain entry, could be changed to allow police to kick down doors to save women and children in domestic violence cases.

Cele said police should not have to think twice about when they can or cannot use their firearms when they were faced with criminals who did not hesitate to shoot. He said that killing was an integral part of the plans of thugs, and that the increased number of police deaths showed that police could not afford to hesitate when confronted with violent criminals.

He said he was not encouraging police to be cowboys, but insisted they could not go up against criminals handcuffed.

At present section 49 allows the use of lethal force by police when either their lives or the lives of others are under threat. A fleeing suspect can not be shot unless they are a violent criminal.

Cele also insisted he had never supported the idea of a moratorium on the release of crime statistics.

He said the issue was on the table and if it could be shown that releasing crime statistics enhanced the fight against crime, then it should happen, but if it was shown that it helped the criminals in their planning then it should not happen.

Mthethwa, addressing the committee before Cele, also announced former ANC MP Francois Beukman as candidate to head the Independent Complaints Directorate watchdog.

But his choice of candidate for the post is -- as was President Jacob Zuma 's appointment of Cele - a political one.