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SAPS need to safeguard uniform and equipment

Dear Editor

The DA expresses grave concern at reports that at a SAPS-registered firearm and several articles of official SAPS uniform (including headdresses, bullet proof vests, and a raincoat) were found in possession of suspects involved in the robbery and shooting incident in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal on over the weekend.

The DA welcomes the speedy intervention by the SAPS in this matter. Their swift action, in the face of extreme risks to life and limb, ensured that a six-member criminal gang was tracked down in the space of 24 hours.

However, it highly troubling that offenders can access official SAPS uniforms for use in their criminal activities. Possession of these articles flings the door open to large-scale and utterly convincing impersonations of SAPS officers, placing the lives and livelihoods of incalculable South Africans at extreme risk, further undermining public trust in our law enforcement agencies and sowing discord between communities and those tasked with keeping them safe.

The SAPS and the Minister must urgently ensure that its uniform and equipment supply chains are kept safe and secure, and out of the hands of criminals. The DA will pose a suite of written questions to the Minister of Police to obtain more information on the integrity of its supply chain management system, with specific reference to its uniform procurement systems, and to ascertain how many official SAPS unforms, or their parts, are currently unaccounted for.

Regards

Lisa Shickerling MP
DA Deputy Spokesperson on Police

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