No amount of reasoning can justify acts of vigilantism, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said.
|||Cape Town - No amount of reasoning can justify acts of vigilantism, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Friday.
“The perpetrators of such acts are often perceived as heroes by those who witness such barbaric killings,” he said at the opening of the Lambert's Bay police station in the Western Cape.
“Well, as the police, we will hunt and arrest these 'heroes' because there is nothing heroic when you burn and kill people.”
If community members knew of people who had committed a crime, they should report them to police so that they could be properly apprehended.
“Let this police station bring an end to this trend. It must become a house of pain to these heartless criminals and represent hope to any crime victim.”
Mthethwa said the safety and security of rural communities was viewed as a priority.
He acknowledged that rural police stations were often isolated, responsible for vast areas, and situated in communities with high levels of poverty and unemployment.
“Inadequate response to the needs of rural communities and resource constraints hamper the rendering of effective policing in many rural areas,” he said.
If communities were unhappy with the service delivered by the police, they should use the proper channels of communication to voice their complaints. - Sapa