The IFP has expressed its shock with the slaying of two police officers, who were shot dead during a cash-in-transit heist in KZN on Monday morning. 

"The IFP has long decried the state of safety in our country and the latest cash-in-transit heist in KZN signals a warning that we are ill-prepared for the annual end-of-year spike in violent crime and cash-in-transit heists," said Mr Velaphi Ndlovu, IFP Safety and Security Spokesperson.

The latest incident reaffirms the IFP's belief that urgent attention should be placed on developing a highly qualified, well paid and highly motivated cadre of crime fighters to make South Africa safe. 

"We need to upgrade our training systems. This should not only focus on our policemen and women, but we need to urgently focus on cash security staff as well. Security companies have been accused of inadequately training their staff and they therefore offer little or no resistance in combating such brazen crimes," said Ndlovu. 

While crime statistics generally give South Africa a bad name, there was one crime-fighting unit whose performance was a source of national pride.   

"Before the demise of the Scorpions, they made several breakthroughs in cases of murder, cash-in-transit heists, drug deals and organised crime in general. The IFP notes that the SAPS has declared itself  'ready to fight organised crime' and 'not willing to tolerate criminals'. We sincerely hope that they will be able to emulate the DSO's track record of apprehending and prosecuting violent criminals successfully. If the SAPS is not able to follow the Scorpions' example, we can anticipate organised and violent crime to increase dramatically," concluded Ndlovu.
 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
 Velaphi Ndlovu, 083 625 0803