Cop killings down since '99
2002-04-29 11:46
Johannesburg - Police murders have shown a sustained decline in the past three years.
At least 54% fewer police murders happened in the first quarter in comparison to the same period last year.
In 1999, South Africa was rocked by the figure of 204 police murdered. The figure declined in the period January 1 to December 31 last year to 163 - 41 fewer than three years ago.
Figure from police headquarters in Pretoria show that 19 officers have been murdered countrywide between January 1 and March 31 this year.
Police safety directorate chief Riaan van Staden says: "These figures show a massive decline and are a direct result of the
directorate's awareness campaign.
The directorate was established in January 2000 after attackers were running riot on South Africa's men and women in uniform. Van Staden added that high-risk areas included Johannesburg, the East Rand and Soweto in Gauteng; north and
south Durban, the Midlands and Umfolozi in KwaZulu-Natal; the western metorpole in the Western Cape and Umtata in the Eastern Cape.
At the mercy of the community
Van Staden said: "We have managed to involve prominent community leaders in these particular communities in taking a stance against and condemning police murders. We can do
all we can internally, but the moment the police officer leaves the station he or she is at the mercy of the community on the outside."
Officers often forget to ensure their own safety and believe themselves to be unassailable. "But, they are just ordinary people, the same as everybody else."
Figures show that most officers are murdered off-duty when their guard is down. Most officers were killed with their own service pistols.