BHEKI Cele's "shoot to kill" order is too narrow because it only focuses on violent crimes. It does not address the issue of reducing the number of criminals.

BHEKI Cele's "shoot to kill" order is too narrow because it only focuses on violent crimes. It does not address the issue of reducing the number of criminals.

Crime is a result of various social ills and depends mostly on the effectiveness of the justice system. We do have other crimes like rape, robbery, theft and so on. These do not normally happen in the presence of the police. So, the "shoot to kill" stance is nullified.

I have a feeling that this "shoot to kill" order will mostly apply to cash heists, serious housebreaking and hijacking.

It is important that Cele becomes vocal on the sentencing of criminals. In so doing he will encourage communities to work with the police. At the moment it is dangerous to report criminals because they easily get bail and then intimidate those who reported them. In most cases, criminals are known to communities. The police must also protect whistle-blowers so that people can be encouraged to report criminal activities.

Also, most cases are thrown out because of insufficient evidence. This state of affairs must be rectified because it contributes to injustice. Even the issue of awaiting-trial prisoners must be addressed and court cases that drag for years must be discouraged.

The commissioner must also look into police response times. People must know that they will be able to get a police officer any time they want to and on time.

No mercy must be shown to police officers working as part-time criminals.

Sefu Sekgala, Johannesburg