Posted on 09/16/2009 11:35:56 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
South Africa is considering the introduction of zero tolerance policing ahead of next year's football World Cup, making it easier for officers to "shoot to kill" suspected criminals.
The proposal has raised fears of a return to "apartheid-era policing", with officers having the right to shoot fleeing suspects in the back.
The change in tone has come with the appointment of a new national police commissioner, Bheki Cele, who has been called a "cowboy" with a penchant for pinstripe suits and panama hats.
The plain-speaking Cele has called for a change in legislation that would allow police to open fire on suspects without having to worry about "what happens after that".
He received backing this week from Nathi Mthethwa, the country's police minister. "We are tired of waving nice documents like the constitution and the human rights charter in criminals' faces," Mthethwa said. "We are going to meet these thugs head on, and if it means we kill when we shoot, then so be it."
South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, with an average of 50 murders a day. More than one person a day is shot by police, according to the country's Independent Complaints Directorate.
Mthethwa's remarks came the day after police gunned down six armed robbers outside Pretoria as they attacked a cash transit van.
The current law allows police to use lethal force only if their lives or the lives of innocent bystanders are in danger. They are not allowed to shoot at fleeing suspects, as they were before the constitutional court struck down the apartheid-era version of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Mthethwa denied that revisions to the law, to be presented to the South African parliament soon, would allow the police to apply their own brand of rough justice.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
On a yellow card or a red card?
That’s got to be awfully tempting in that hell hole.
LOL That is going to take all the fun out of it.
Uh huh... nodding up and down with very skeptical look on face
“South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, with an average of 50 murders a day. More than one person a day is shot by police, according to the country’s Independent Complaints Directorate.”
You know what will take care of that problem, don’t ya?....gun control.
Could be bad news for the English Soccer hooligans.
Of course South Africa is kind of a haul if you’ve got to be back on Monday morning to your place of unemployment.
Good God
That's worse then most war zones
you’ll find most lads who have kicked it off have some great jobs with very high wages and live in very nice areas with nice houses .
It is the usual old days of the media who used to try and say it was a bunch of unemployed bored lads.
Now a days it is nothing to what it was and most of the time it is other countries looking to cause trouble with the English so they think they get a reputation .
Difference is that these idiots go for the normal fan instead of lads willing to fight.
They think beating up a lad with his girlfriend is somewhat great so they can tell their friends how they got to beat an English fan of course forgetting how there was 15 pof them and only one of the other
Every team going to that cesspool should bring a large security force.
Why would anyone ever pull the trigger unless they intended to kill?
South Africa is one big basket case....and there was a lot of crime committed on fans and media by RSA citizens while in the country for this past Confederations Cup (a dress rehearsal for next year’s World Cup)
I got a feeling that it will be quite nasty in South Africa next year. And these incompetent Children of Apartheid will end up shooting more soccer fans than criminals. And Peter Gabriel wont be singing liberal whine-songs about the victims...
This sounds like something that should be done in most cities in the USA.
Culling the herd/
It's gonna be a bloodbath!
Second thoughts.
What are the odds that a lot of the “criminals” shot will be white farmers or the like?
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