Cops could lose 'team spirit'

2007-10-31 17:09

Johannesburg - Closing down specialised police units may result in a loss of informer networks, expertise and team spirit, a seminar on policing in SA heard on Wednesday.

"To destroy this is a very serious thing that needs to be thought through," said senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies Johan Burger.

He said the former narcotics bureau had been the "sharp end" of the police's fight against drugs.

Putting its members into other units or sending them to police stations would lead to a loss of focus and specialisation.

Burger also argued that restructuring the police force - which aimed to bring more officers to police stations - was based on the wrong premise.

More than 70% of rapes and about 80% of murders happened among people who knew each other.

"How do you set yourself a target (to combat something) you don't control?" he asked.

Burger added that the police further added to their own difficulties by adopting the government's goal of reducing crime by between and seven and ten percent each year.

Director Hannes Swart of the police said that the money allocated by finance minister Trevor Manuel in his medium term budget on Tuesday would go towards improving IT networks, training detectives and increasing the capacity of the forensic laboratories.

- SAPA