The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is horrified that police killings have spiked to the highest level in five years according to the latest South African Police Service (SAPS) annual report.
The number of SAPS members who have been murdered has reached 111 in the 2023/24 financial year from 92 in the previous year. This represents a shocking 20.65% increase in killings for both on and off duty officers, the highest recorded in the last five years.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the greatest number of murders at 22, followed by Gauteng at 21, 13 in the Western Cape and 11 in the Eastern Cape within the same period. The sad reality is while police officers have dedicated and risk their lives to protect others, they are not afforded the same privilege as they become targets in the same communities they vow to protect. Criminals target off-duty police officers for their service pistols, which are then used in the perpetration of other crimes as well as to stop them from investigating their activities.
COSATU agrees with its dedicated affiliate, Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU), that police officers' conditions of work render them vulnerable. Earning an average police officer's salary, relegates many to living in backyard dwellings and using public transport, which exposes them to further risk.
For the longest time, POPCRU has been warning of a mass exodus of skilled officers from the police service in search of greener pastures in the private sector, where they are handsomely remunerated for their expert skills and experience and exposed to far less risk.
In the lead-up to the Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement the Federation called on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to abandon the tried and failed austerity budget cuts and breathe life into the economy which has been slumbering for far too long with a meagre growth rate of 1%, and a staggering unemployment rate of 42.6%. Had Minister Godongwana heeded our cries along with that of his counterpart in the Ministry of Police, he would have increased police funding. Part of the funding would have been directed towards improving officers' salaries and by so doing transform and preserve their lives, including being able to afford their own housing and transport.
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It is equally critical that government ensures the SAPS has the tools and training it requires to win the war against crime, in particular working vehicles, secure police stations and high calibre weapons and protective gear. SAPS needs to shift personnel away from desk jobs to specialised units and community policing.
The Federation urges government to tighten criminal legislation, including the prohibition of parole for persons charged with attacking police officers and automatic life sentences without parole for those convicted of such heinous crimes.
COSATU sends its heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the valiant police officers who lost their lives in service of the community. We stand firmly behind our affiliate, POPCRU, as it calls for legislation to be strengthened to ensure no criminal accused of or convicted for attacking a police officer is ever allowed to roam free or threaten society again.
