“We are not going to give up, regardless of who says what. It's the courage we have. It's a minority that makes the comments, but the public in general is quite appreciative of the work we do. For these youngsters it is unfortunate they lost their lives here.”
Mkhwanazi said police have a duty to fight crime despite the consequences or criticism.
“They have been responsible for mayhem in the area where they come from, so if you interview the community the majority of them are going to be excited and may breathe a sigh of relief because the people who were terrorising them are no longer around.
“That's not to say it's a good thing they're dead, but that they are not among society [any longer] makes the community happy with us. So we will continue doing that. As long as we operate within the law, we are not going to stop.”
Mkhwanazi said apprehending criminals didn't necessarily mean ending a life of crime.
“We can only enforce the laws as police and this means getting the perpetrators to court and from court they end up in correctional services. Unfortunately they don't stop their criminal activities. Once they come out they're back doing the same thing.”
He cited an example where police arrested a parolee with a loaded AK47 and handgun at the weekend, who was previously involved in robberies. “So it just shows there was nothing good about him to justify parole — and how many people would have been killed after that?”
WATCH | They should be studying but live a life of crime: Mkhwanazi
'Something is wrong with how these youngsters are growing up'
Image: SAPS
A spent cartridge and a five of diamonds playing card on the floor leading into unit 2 Ushaka on Durban's South Beach Avenue hinted at the chaotic scenes at the Point holiday flats on Tuesday.
Shortly before midnight, an armed gang of youngsters who allegedly lived the life of robberies, extortion and drugs lay in pools of blood after a shoot-out with police. Police say the men shot five people and killed four of them execution-style on Siyaphambili Road in Tshelimnyama, Mariannhill, on Sunday night.
The suspects were first traced to a hideout in Newlands East but were not there. Further information lead police to the rented holiday apartment in Durban.
Speaking at the scene, KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said the suspects were youngsters linked to a string of robberies, murders and drugs.
He defended police who have come under fire for the number of suspected criminals who have died in shoot-outs in recent months.
“I wouldn't want to argue much with those that refer to us as vigilante groups. Ours is law enforcement and we are going to protect them as well. If their lives are under threat, they can call us vigilantes — we are not going to discriminate against anyone. We put our lives before the lives of citizens, that's why we commemorated the lives lost at the Union Building [on Monday] ... it's just a sacrifice we do as police,” he said.
“We are not going to give up, regardless of who says what. It's the courage we have. It's a minority that makes the comments, but the public in general is quite appreciative of the work we do. For these youngsters it is unfortunate they lost their lives here.”
Mkhwanazi said police have a duty to fight crime despite the consequences or criticism.
“They have been responsible for mayhem in the area where they come from, so if you interview the community the majority of them are going to be excited and may breathe a sigh of relief because the people who were terrorising them are no longer around.
“That's not to say it's a good thing they're dead, but that they are not among society [any longer] makes the community happy with us. So we will continue doing that. As long as we operate within the law, we are not going to stop.”
Mkhwanazi said apprehending criminals didn't necessarily mean ending a life of crime.
“We can only enforce the laws as police and this means getting the perpetrators to court and from court they end up in correctional services. Unfortunately they don't stop their criminal activities. Once they come out they're back doing the same thing.”
He cited an example where police arrested a parolee with a loaded AK47 and handgun at the weekend, who was previously involved in robberies. “So it just shows there was nothing good about him to justify parole — and how many people would have been killed after that?”
Mkhwanazi said the age of the criminals was a “huge concern to society” and not solely the responsibility of the police or correctional services.
“There is something fundamentally wrong with how these youngsters are growing up. Who is going to be left to take over if the youngsters behave like this? It is a concern for us, so we do our best to engage them, come up with programmes — but by and large there's something from the families that needs to be done as well.”
The commissioner said the youngsters were easy targets for criminal syndicates.
“With these youngsters, many come from broken families because there is no control. Some of them should be in matric or university — they are in that age range. But the only thing they know is to commit crime. If you drive around the township you see them sitting around, doing nothing. That's why they get recruited easily.
“Once they are not engaged productively, they are going to be recruited by criminals and become criminals. The sad part is once there is engagement with the police, they are so threatened they just shoot, they don't care. It is this shooting which leads to them dying.”
Mkhwanazi said every time there is a shooting and someone dies, others “take up the baton”.
TimesLIVE
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