Senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies Dr Johan Burger says police officers need to remain vigilant at all times. He was reacting to the latest incidents of police killings.
Last week Meadowlands Police Station Commander Malefetsane Mofokeng was shot and killed in full view of his 14-year-old daughter as he closed the gate to his Protea south home in Soweto.
Last month a Johannesburg Metro Police inspector Ayanda Zulu was shot and killed as she drove out of her home in Palm Springs south of Johannesburg.
Berger says although police killings are longer as rife as in the 1990’s, officers do need to be careful.
“Research has shown that about 60% of police officers who are murdered, are off duty when they are killed. And there are many reasons for this. Sometimes they are at places of social gatherings and they do not have their colleagues to back them up. Their awareness perhaps is not the same as when they are on duty.”
