Police Minister Bheki Cele says attacks on police members are increasing at an alarming rate.
He says last week, in the space of 24 hours, four police officers were attacked in the Western Cape alone.
He was addressing the 35th Squadron in Belhar ahead of their deployment for the province’s Operation Shanela, which is an extension of a nationwide operation to combat crime in identified hotspot areas.
Cele has urged police officers to be vigilant when performing their duties.
“There is a war against you. It’s important that you work as colleagues, you work as a unit, you cover your backs.”
Cele allocates R1.8 billion to build 13 police stations:
Cele also added that the collaboration between the police and other law enforcement agencies in the province is beginning to bear fruit.
He says according to the latest crime statistics, crime in the province reduced by four percent, making the province the lead in the reduction of crime.
“We are beginning to make the impact on the ground with the operations that we are doing. While we can see that we are moving in the right direction, allow the people to be judges.”
He adds: “Especially, allow young women to be able to say, “in the middle of the night we can walk in the street without any fear of attack. When that time comes, when women and children say that, we would have arrived.”
