Saluting the men and women in blue

Our country’s President made the telling point that, not only are police being killed in the ‘normal’ course of duty, they are in fact being targeted by criminals who have obvious disdain for the rule of law.

More than 60 officers have been killed this year while on duty, with KZN at the forefront.

Just three months ago, this city grieved over a police officer killed during a holding cell inspection at eSikhaleni.

In any other country, this extraordinarily high number of police deaths would bring down governments or at least raise an outcry for answers that would stem the escalating crisis.

Of course, these murders go far beyond the loss of the men and women in blue: they are an attack against the entire system of law and order, and the values enshrined in our constitution, such as the public’s right to safety and security.

For, if our designated, qualified protectors are being massacred, where does that leave the vulnerable average member of society?

There are those who have little sympathy for police members, since far too many have been implicated in crime and have even been perpetrators of family violence and bloodshed.

But to criticise and malign the police service because of the behaviour of the small minority is unfair and unsympathetic.

It is like writing the financial history of companies, focusing only on bankruptcies.

Added to the personal distress of the deaths of their colleagues is the condemnation from sectors of the public – hardly a recipe for increased police morale.

Rather than being praised for being prepared to face violent criminals head-on, these poorly paid, under-resourced and brave men and women are branded along with those who taint the image of the police service.

They deserve better.

We join the president and the nation in thanking serving police for their selfless devotion to duty and their bravery, and pray for their protection as they tackle the hostile criminal element.