Gugulethu Police officers and different community stakeholders marked the police safety month in style at JL Zwane Presbyterian Church on Thursday 14 September.
The event, which was organised by the officers, also commemorated officers who died on duty.
Gugulethu Police Station commander Brig Nokuthula Pete described the occasion as an annual event. She said the aim was to encourage the officers to be vigilant.
“This is our month as officers. Every year in this month, we celebrate Police Safety Month.
“Safety is vital for the officers. The officer’s safety begins at home when he or she prepares to go to work.
“They need to ensure that their firearms are safe and that they wear bulletproof vests. They mustn’t wear the bulletproof vest to be seen by their superiors but they must wear it for their safety,” said Pete, adding that officers were targeted by criminals because of their firearms.
Pete touched on the recent shootings in KTC where two men were gunned down at Z Memani Street.
She said they deployed officers to monitor the area.
“We’ve noticed the spate of killings that is happening in KTC. We are working together with other relevant community stakeholders to fight crime in the area. We will ensure that there is police visibility all the time,” said Pete.
Gugulethu Spiritual Crime Prevention Forum (SCPF) coordinator Rev Zama Mfihlo said the residents should understand that the officers formed part of the community. He urged the community to protect the officers.
“These are our brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts who are working in the police and need to be protected. And we are saying to the families who lost their family members while on duty they are not alone,” said Mfihlo.
He urged the government to amend the law in favour of the officers.
“Killing an officer is an attack on the state. The government needs to ensure that there is no bail for people who kill our officers. We don’t need criminals in our society,” said Mfihlo.
