Country salutes memory of cops who fell in action

The memories of 55 South African policemen and women who died in the line of duty this year will be honoured at a sombre service today.

They are but a few of the country's brave men and women who put their lives on the line each day.

This morning, President Jacob Zuma and police commissioner General Bheki Cele will oversee a wreath-laying ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria as part of the annual SAPS Commemoration Day.

In March this year, 30-year-old Constable Enos Legodi was gunned down outside his family home in Mamelodi, Pretoria.

His distraught father, Stephen Legodi, said the family were traumatised at finding his eldest son shot to death on their doorstep.

''My son got a phone call and went outside. We then heard gunshots, and we found him lying on the ground bleeding. He had been shot 37 times."

Legodi, a bus driver in Mamelodi, said his son was a dedicated policeman who was passionate about his job.

''He never took a bribe and he hated corruption. He never had a wife because he always said he was married to his job.''

His murder, which the family suspect was a hit, is still under investigation.

Two months ago, the station commander in Rosebank, Johannesburg, Lieutenant-Colonel Thandi Mkhize, was shot 14 times in the charge office, but survived. One of her colleagues, David Kekana, also shot dead Captain Neelavathy Naidu.

Kekana had been unhappy with the outcome of a disciplinary hearing in which he was found guilty.

On Friday, Lieutenant-Colonel Tshisikawe Ndou said Mkhize was out of ICU and able to "walk and talk".

The incident triggered a directive from Cele that makes it mandatory for all officers to now wear bulletproof vests, even when working in the charge office.

Cele warned that commanders would be held responsible if this instruction was not heeded.

It forms part of a broader action plan to curb the high number of police deaths. Another involves encouraging policemen and women to seek regular trauma counselling.

As part of its health and wellness programme, the SAPS offers optional counselling. But experts saycompulsory counselling will ensure a healthier and better police force.

A senior researcher in crime and justice at the Institute for Security Studies, Dr Johan Burger, said uniformed police officers on operational duties should be obligated to wear vests.

"That's the way to go ... unfortunately, far too many police officers find too many excuses not to wear it."

He said the death of a colleague had certain psychological effects on fellow members, adding that there were not enough controls at police stations in terms of safety and managing the psychological impact of the job.

''They wouldn't want to be seen by their colleagues as being soft, but if it is being forced on them, then it makes it easier. You need to provide better counselling, especially in this country with the high levels of violence police are exposed to."

He said that based on a comparative study he did last year on global trends of police killings, he found that a police officer had a higher probability - up to six times - of being killed in South Africa compared with the US.

But, despite the rising number of killings and threats they face daily, police officers had mixed feelings about Cele's instructions.

One Durban-based senior detective said that while it was a good idea for uniformed members, it was impractical to expect plainclothes officers to wear vests. Instead, he called for harsher sentences for cop killers and stricter bail conditions.

A captain with 26 years' experience said he was "old school" and believed counselling should remain optional.

He was not in favour of making it compulsory to wear bulletproof vests. "It's difficult to work in those vests, and we do wear them during operations."

Independent psychologist Sally John agreed that counselling should be mandatory.

'' I found that, months later, the policeman will be telling me about the incident and will be going through all the emotions of anger and anguish. The incident sits with them, unless they can work through it," she said.

Men were less likely to seek psychological counselling because they "must be strong and resistant".

Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union spokesman Norman Mampane said trauma counsellors should be allocated to all stations.

''Officers need to be taken through these processes. Some of them see traumatic things," he said.