CAPE TOWN, August 19 (Xinhua) – With more police stations attacked, Parliament warned Sunday that criminal syndicates are targeting police stations to obtain firearms for criminal activities.
"Police management should be quick and decisive," said Francois Beukman, chairman of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Police.
He spoke after two other police officers had been shot dead at Cape Town on Friday evening in Delft and Khayelitsha respectively.
"Once again it is a confirmation that a group of criminals in the country is not on the rule of law and the rule of law and that law enforcement agencies must ensure that these criminals are arrested and brought to justice," said Beukman.
Tactical training of police officers and proactive crime intelligence are key to addressing the current worrying situation, he said.
Moreover, the deployment of sufficient members during the week of end and night shifts is also of the utmost importance, and station and cluster commanders must monitor the effectiveness of security measures at police stations, Beukman said.
There has been an increase in attacks on police stations in South Africa, which is one of the highest crime rates in the world.
At the beginning of this month, armed men attacked a police station in Kareedouw, in the eastern Cape Province, and held a serving officer at gunpoint, killed with a number of firearms from the safe.
In February, gunmen attacked a police station in Nqcobo, also in the Eastern Cape province, where five policemen and a soldier were out of service and they were steel weapons and a vehicle before they fled.
Police stations in the Free State and Western Cape provinces have
In most attacks, criminals took firearms and ammunition from the police stations.
It is clear that the driving force for criminals to attack police stations is to get them rearmed, Beukman said.
There have been concerns that firearms stolen from police stations will add to the pool of firearms to be used in criminal activities.
Berkman urged members of the community with information about the location of the perpetrators and the stolen National police commissioner Kehla Sitole will be called to Parliament next week to inform the Portfolio Committee on Police about measures to increase safety at police stations, says Beukman.
The effectiveness of the measures introduced by the South African police (SAPS) management to ensure security at police stations and SAPS members in general is in parliament, Beukman said.
South African lawmakers have blamed SAPS for failing to implement an effective security strategy to protect police stations from attack.
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