SOUTH AFRICA: 'Shoot to Kill' Comment Shocks Judge

• by Stephanie Nieuwoudt (cape town)
• Thursday, November 26, 2009
• Inter Press Service

'We need to be concerned when people in responsible positions say irresponsible things,' said Judge Deon van Zyl, inspecting judge of SA prisons.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar held in Cape Town by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) to launch the book Criminal (In)Justice in South Africa - A Civil Society Perspective, edited by Chandré Gould.

'There is a severe lack of resources in the police services, but one does not solve the problem by giving what manpower there is extra powers (shooting to kill) to make up for the deficiency,' said Van Zyl.

The seminar followed barely two weeks after a policeman shot Atlegang Aphane, a three-year- old boy. The child was in a car the police mistakenly assumed was being used by criminals.

At a press conference after the shooting, deputy minister of police Fikile Mbalula told reporters it was inevitable that innocent people would be killed in the crossfire between officers and the innocent. 'Yes. Shoot the bastards. Hard-nut-to-crack, incorrigible bastards,' he said.

This is the second time in two years that a minister has publicly stated it is acceptable for police to shoot to kill. In 2008 the then-minister of security, Susan Shabangu, told officers at a public meeting on crime to use their guns and shoot to kill.

South African crime rates are among the highest in the world, and according to statistics from the South African Police Service 2.1 million crimes were reported between April 2008 and March 2009.

This included 18,148 murders, 203,777 cases of assault with intent to cause serious bodily harm, 121,392 robberies with aggravating circumstances, 14,915 carjackings and 70,154 cases of sexual assault.

A number of speakers at the Cape Town seminar were concerned that the 'shoot to kill' directive would not lead to a decrease in violent crimes. Lucas Muntingh, of the Community Law Centre at the University of the Western Cape, argued, 'This kind of violent rhetoric by the authorities will up the ante.'

According to Muntingh it could lead to criminals being even more violent during criminal activities, and more criminals resorting to armed crimes.

This was echoed by John Cartwright, of the Centre for Criminology at the University of Cape Town (UCT), who added that the shoot-to-kill statement was a short-sighted response driven by a desire to pander to pressure groups rather than offering a long-term solution.

Speakers emphasised that the criminal justice system was overloaded and overwhelmed. Detectives had to deal with on average of 150 case dockets. There was also a severe skills shortage in the detective services, with only 25% adequately trained. These problems were compounded by the fact that the detective services were understaffed by 50 percent, speakers revealed.

'Most violent crimes are committed over weekends, but most police stations are understaffed then because the personnel are having a break,' said Johan Burger, senior researcher in the Crime and Justice Programme (CJP) of the ISS.

Iole Matthews, of the Independent Project Trust, an independent conflict-resolution body, argued that the problem was exacerbated by the fact that staff in the police services were traumatised by their day-to-day work in a system constantly in flux.

Police officers were debriefed when they had shot at someone, but not debriefed after having worked at a crime scene.

Andrew Faull, a researcher for the CJP, pointed out that officers were confused by conflicting messages. 'On the one hand they are told to shoot and kill, but as soon as they fire a docket is opened against them, and they are investigated on murder charges.'

A number of speakers said the morale of police officers was at an all-time low, because of the bad example set by senior officials. They pointed out that former Commissioner of Police Jackie Selebi was now standing trial on corruption charges. But there was not only a problem with high-level leadership - managers often lacked the skills for the job.

Responding to questions from the audience, Irvin Kinnes, of the Centre of Criminology at UCT, said civil society had an important role to play in pressuring the authorities to deal with the gaps in the criminal justice system.

'Civil society should play a more vociferous role in addressing these problems. Our democracy gives us the opportunity to rectify imbalances. It is time for civil society to re-organise our voices. We are in crisis because our political leaders lack the capacity to take us forward.'

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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