‘We have no choice but to defend ourselves’: Masemola on police shootouts

National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola says police will continue to defend themselves from criminals who shoot at them first.

Masemola updated the nation on the successes achieved through nationwide operations, at the Operation Shanela roadblock in Kempton Park on Thursday.

Responding to criticism of the shootouts between police and suspects, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal, Masemola said officers were often met with heavy gunfire and had to protect themselves.

‘Heavy gunfire’

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is one of the organisations that have expressed concern over the number of crime suspects dying at the hands of the police.

“We have listened to the different views that continue to be expressed by ordinary citizens and experts within the field of policing in relation to the number of suspects that have been shot and killed by police in KwaZulu-Natal in recent months,” said Masemola.

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“It is important to clarify that, our mandate as the Saps (South African Police Service) is to bring perpetrators to justice by arresting them, but quite often in pursuit of arresting these often dangerous and heavily armed criminals, our police officers are more than often met with heavy gunfire and that leaves our officers with no option but to defend themselves and the communities that they serve.

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“If criminals carry water guns, we will also respond with shotguns but when criminals fire with live ammunition, we have no choice but to defend ourselves and the communities that we serve. With this said, we will continue to use force that is proportional to the threat.

‘We have no choice’

“It is no secret that our men and women in blue are up against heavily armed criminals who have no regard for the rule of law.

“The criminals that we are facing on a daily basis are armed with various calibre of firearms and are often quick to shoot at our members whose mandate is to bring perpetrators to justice by apprehending them.

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“It is on this note that we urge criminals to surrender themselves when called to do so by police,” said Masemola.

Police visibility

Masemola said police were also working on being more visible in communities as a form of deterrent to crime.

“Our ears remain on the ground, and we are aware that communities want to see police officers on the ground.”

Masemola. said in the past two years, the Saps has recruited and trained 20,000 police officers. He said are already serving at the police stations and various specialised units including crime intelligence and the detective environment.

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“We are also proud to announce that there are currently 4,500 recruits in training. The remaining 5,500 recruits will commence with training in January 2025,” he added.

In March this year, then-minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola revealed in a parliamentary answer that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had referred more than 1.8 million case dockets back to the Saps for further investigations since 2018.

This is amid concerns about the shortage of detectives in South Africa.

Police killings

In September, Saps members will be at the Union Buildings to pay tribute to 39 officers who died on duty between 01 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.

From January 2024 to June 2024, 33 police officers were killed. Six were on duty, while 27 of them were killed off-duty.

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“No police officer should die at the hands of criminals. These were dedicated men and women in blue who, when called to respond to the call of duty, did not hesitate and paid the ultimate price with their lives,” said Masemola.