Move to give cops more power

2009-07-02 19:04

Cape Town - Law amendments are in the pipeline that will give police greater power to use lethal force against dangerous criminals, the ministry confirmed on Thursday.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa asked for changes to section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act because police officers were hesitant to shoot at suspects for fear of falling foul of the law, his spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi said.

As the law stands, police are allowed to use lethal force only if their lives or those of innocent bystanders are in danger.

They are not allowed to shoot at fleeing suspects or those suspected of having committed serious crimes, as was the case before the Constitutional Court struck down the apartheid-era version of section 49.

Disciplinary hearings

"Some members (of the police force) have raised concerns that if they have used maximum force they are hauled before disciplinary hearings," Mulaudzi told Sapa.

Mthethwa told MPs in his budget speech to Parliament on Wednesday: "We are proposing some amendments to section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

"We must hasten to say that trigger-happy members must not think that this is a licence to kill. It is a measure aimed specifically at dealing with serious violent crime and dangerous criminals."

The minister did not elaborate and the amendments had not yet been tabled in Parliament.

Handling suspects with 'kid gloves'

Mulaudzi said Mthethwa felt strongly that when faced with dangerous suspects, the police should be given wider powers to retaliate.

"The minister feels that, whether they look back or not, why should we not deal with them if they are dangerous?"

Mthethwa had in the past complained the police could not effectively fight crime if they had to handle armed suspects with kid gloves.

His former deputy minister Susan Shabangu caused an outcry when she urged police not to miss but to "kill the bastards".
 

- SAPA