The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union in the North West has called on Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola to declare the illegal mining operations in the province a special event. 

A SENSE OF URGENCY

Provincial Secretary Johannes Dire explained that this declaration will allow for the urgent deployment of necessary resources to assist SAPS during and beyond this mission. "The illegal mining operation is well coordinated and you will understand that these police officers, these men and women in blue, go to these operations and after they must still go to the same community that is harbouring these illegal miners because they live there. This is a very sensitive matter. On Sunday, we lost a police officer who was shot in his vehicle, it might not be related but we don't know but it could be illegal miners retaliating," he said.

POLICE KILLING TREND

Dire said the trend of killing officers may continue if they continue to be exposed to such situations over an extended period. "The officers have spent a lot of time in Stilfontein, their faces are now known by the community which places them in the vulnerable position of being easily identifiable when they are walking down the road," said Dire, adding that, "We have also called on the national commissioner of police to declare this operation a special event so that necessary resources beyond what they've received can be deployed to the province to ensure that members can deal with these illegal miners." Dire said looking at the decline of the strength of the South African Police Service in North West from 2010, 2012 and 2014, there were about 12,000 police policemen in the province. "Currently it's half and these are the same members who must be able to deal with these illegal miners who are well coordinated and are massive in numbers," he said.