Popcru speaks out on gun use

2003-06-12 10:42

Johannesburg - If a person's life was in danger, that person was entitled to use their firearm in self-defence, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) said in a statement on Wednesday.

In reaction to the controversy which followed statements by national police commissioner Jackie Selebi in May, Popcru said: "there is nothing wrong with the legislation (section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act)".

Like "all members of society, police are entitled to self-defence and defence of property without necessarily violating... the act.

"It is incorrect to suggest that our members' hands are now tied".;

Popcru said its understanding of section 49 was that it "merely sought to regulate the use of lethal force by law enforcers".

"In the past, police were entitled to arbitrary use of lethal force, even if the force applied was not proportional to the crime committed.

Misunderstandings?

"By virtue of the powers given to police, the killing of a person who commits a crime or who is suspected of having committed a crime is justifiable."

Popcru suggested there had been some misunderstandings about the act.

Popcru said there had been bad communication and misunderstanding among the police top management and policy makers, which then confused their members.

Popcru said the solution would be to train managers to understand the act in the context of the Constitutional Court ruling on the use of lethal force, and then include section 49 in the curriculum of police training colleges.

- SAPA