Newsletters

 NHSA Newsletter

VOL. 14 (35) - 29-10-2018

CRIMES COMMITTED BY SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE OFFICIALS

Dear Member,

NHSA aligns itself with the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR), in their statement on the purported effort by SAPS to take away the means of South African citizens to defend themselves against crime in this country, when they state "The IRR also stands against what seem to be genuine proposals by the government to take away the rights of South Africans to own a firearm for the purposes of self-defence. What was purported to be draft legislation was leaked to the public in early October.

This purported draft legislation removes self-defence as a valid reason for owning a weapon. The protection of another person or of one’s own property will also no longer valid reasons to own a firearm, according to what may have been a leaked Bill.

Even weapons which are effectively antiques – such as muzzle-loaders – will be brought under the new legislation. The purported Bill also incorporates much stronger restrictions on how many weapons and rounds of ammunition may be held by a gun owner who wishes to use the weapons for hunting or sports shooting.

South Africans should be allowed to own firearms for the purposes of self-defence. Taking away that right in a country with levels of violence as high as South Africa’s is unfair. Furthermore, gun rights are – to a large degree – civil rights and a high degree of caution must be exercised when meddling with civil rights."

This above statement is especially applicable if one reads the IRR's full report on crimes committed by police officials.

The IRR in October 2018 published its third report in a series of reports on crimes commited by police officials in this country.  The previous two reports were published in 2011 and in 2015.

The introductory text of the really disturbing report, which reflects corruption, theft, fraud, assault, and kidnapping committed by police officials since 2016, reads as follows:

"This is the third report of the Broken Blue Line project – the first having been published by the IRR in 2011 and the second in 2015. As with the two previous reports, this document examines the extent to which the police are involved in perpetrating criminal violence. As we stated in the previous Broken Blue Line reports, there should be no need for such a report as the police should be our primary line of defence against criminal
violence. However, as you will read, in too many cases that line of defence has broken down and the supposed defenders have become perpetrators. What we wrote in the second edition of the Broken Blue Line bears repeating: ‘As long as the police service remains a home to violent criminals it is very unlikely that South Africa will experience a sustained and significant decline in serious and violent crime. It is essential therefore that pressure be brought to bear on political authorities to take police criminality seriously and deal with it effectively.

Creating such pressure is also one of the most effective means by which South Africa can support the efforts of hard-working and committed members of the police service.

’What we wrote in 2015 is still true today – criminals are still active in the SAPS and the police forces of the various metropolitan municipalities. Criminality ranges from opportunistic theft and sexual assault to police collusion with bosses of organised criminal syndicates.  Convicted criminals also serve in the SAPS – for example, in May 2018, it was reported that 27 police officers working in crime intelligence had criminal records. Of those, 20 had criminal records for traffic offences while the other seven had been convicted for more serious crimes.

The vast majority of people serving in these services are dedicated to protecting society and upholding the law, but it is clear that criminals are active in the ranks of the police. It is these people who need to be removed from organisations which provide the vital function of protecting law-abiding citizens."

Members can read the really disturbing full IRR report on crimes committed by SAPS officials HERE

Please remain safe !

Natshoot office

This newsletter sent to all members via Email on 29-10-2018