IOL reports that the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) believes better remuneration and improved living conditions for police officers could arrest the scourge of murder targeted at the law enforcement agents across SA.
It was reported on Tuesday that at least 31 police officers were killed in the last three months, and that police management was deeply concerned about the trend. Adding its voice to the discourse on police killings, Popcru said at least 52 police officers had been killed since the beginning of this year, and that has created anxiety among its police officer members. Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said police officers were killed for different reasons, which included robbery of their service firearms. Officers are also killed while off-duty to silence them regarding ongoing or previous investigations. He said better remuneration would ensure that the police officers were safe when they were off-duty. “As things stand, police officers are backyard dwellers, most of them. They are known by criminals and of course they stay around the very same areas where they make arrests. That makes them vulnerable. That is why we highlighted that we need to ensure that their living standards are improved so that they find themselves in a better position,” Mamabolo argued. He added that in most cases, police officers used public transport when they were not on duty and that added to their vulnerability.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jonisayi Maromo at IOL
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