107 suspects killed by KZN police in one year, says police minister

23 October 2024 - 16:26 By LWAZI HLANGU
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Two suspects allegedly linked to the killing of seven family members, including three children, at Hlokozi in Highflats on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast recently died in a shoot-out with police.
Two suspects allegedly linked to the killing of seven family members, including three children, at Hlokozi in Highflats on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast recently died in a shoot-out with police.
Image: SAPS

The DA has raised concern about “deadly force” used by KwaZulu-Natal police when dealing with suspected criminals and called for body cameras to monitor their actions.

Police minister Senzo Mchunu says 107 suspects were killed by the KZN police between July 2023 and July 2024 while only one police officer was arrested after these deaths.

Mchunu was responding to parliamentary questions by DA National Council of Provinces member Mzamo Billy, who also represents the party in the select committee on security and justice.

Billy’s questions were prompted by a report in August which found more than 30 suspects had been killed by KZN police between May and August.

He said KZN had constantly recorded the highest number of killings, noting an Independent Police Investigative Directorate report that 108 of the 364 suspects killed by police during 2022/2023 were in the province.

“While it is common knowledge suspected criminals in our province do not spare the police, the high number killed remains a cause for concern.

“Deadly force by SAPS should not be regarded as an acceptable way of confronting KZN’s escalating crime levels. Instead, stakeholders should tread carefully as it may affect public trust in law enforcement and the criminal justice system.”

The province needed a crime prevention strategy which would be properly funded and bring together stakeholders from government and society.

“The use of evidence-based policing and technology, the allocation of police resources based on crime prevalence in communities and an urgent exploration of the use of body cameras to monitor police-public interactions are also required.”

Billy said the body cameras would be in the best interests of police and suspects.

Former police minister Bheki Cele had promised to prioritise body cameras in May 2019 but none had been procured.

“Cameras don’t lie. Their purpose is two-fold — to ensure there is no police brutality or police over-exertion of authority and to review footage and establish where more SAPS training and resources are needed,” Billy said.

The province has been in the spotlight after a spate of killings by police, with this approach receiving as much support as it does detractors.

While it has received support from residents, especially on social media, it has also come under fire from various criminal experts, who called it “aggressive” and “heavy handed”.

This criticism prompted provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to publicly defend police action, noting most of the killings happen as police defend themselves during shoot-outs.

He was quoted by Daily Maverick last month, saying: “We [the police] are the last line of defence between good and bad. We have to protect citizens. So we have to lay our lives down for them. If it means criminals must die, so be it. If it means we must die, so be it.”

TimesLIVE


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