PICS: Photos of cops sleeping at their desks

Photographs taken of police officers allegedly sleeping on the job at the Eldorado Park police station in Gauteng have led to a torrent of criticism on social media.

The photos appear to have been taken by someone standing at the charge counter. A heater can be seen keeping the slumbering officers warm during the heart of winter.

Picture: Facebook

New police minister Bheki Cele recently, however, vowed that the SA Police Service will become more professionalised and work harder to fight crime.

The SAPS is nevertheless still perceived by many as a struggling organisation with low motivation levels.

Many users on Facebook joked that someone needed to let off some firecrackers in the station. Another posted a photo of a police bakkie being improperly used to move private furniture.

Picture: Facebook

Earlier this month, Cele declared that the days of police officials sitting behind their desks had “come to an end”, as they would now be deployed to identified crime hot spots countrywide. Their focus would be on combating serious crimes such as cash-in-transit heists, car hijackings, murders, house robberies, and gang violence.

As part of the reaction plan, an aeroplane for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) plus another plane, all police helicopters, and 122 high-powered vehicles would be on standby for operations.

“We have also beefed up the 10111 hotline with new technology to be quick in receiving the messages and to respond,” police commissioner General Khehla Sitole said in a joint press conference with Cele.