MEDIA STATEMENT

POPCRU on the killing of two Correctional Officials.

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) is hysterical over continuous altercations taking place within and among our correctional centres, with the latest incident having taken place on the 12th of July 2022, wherein two correctional official under the Community Corrections, who were tracing an absconder in the area of Duduza in Ekurhuleni, were brutally attacked, and their firearm stolen.

While one official passed away at the scene, the other succumbed to his injuries while receiving medical attention at Pholosong Hospital.

The nature and conditions of the work conducted by members within the criminal justice cluster in its entirety are such that incidents of this nature cannot fully be prevented. However, more effective measures can be put in place to minimise their occurrence, and this includes ensuring members have sufficient tools of trade, work within the defined conditions, overcrowding and understaffing challenges are addressed among others.

As these officers are to be laid to rest over the coming weekend, we plead with the DCS management to ensure that whenever officers are deployed both within centres and to communities, they are adequately equipped to handle whatever confrontation they might face, and further urge officers to be wary of the conditions within which they are deployed in ensuring their safety is prioritised.

As a union, we have long warned about the adverse impacts of understaffing and overcrowding within our correctional centres, and the risks such conditions bring not only to officers but also to the entire process of rehabilitation which is the core mandate of the DCS. We believe the process of ensuring our centres become self-sufficient will go a long way in ensuring aspects of the challenges faced by the department are eradicated.

Issued 21/07/2022

For more information contact Richard Mamabolo on 066 135 4349