Police Action - 18 April 3011
Lately, media and commentators have enjoyed bringing back the labels; “Police State” and “Apartheid Era” when writing about Police action. Some brave writers have made a small but relevant note about this that mentions a revolution (in terms of political change) actually means a circle in that we end up where we started. (Food for thought?)

The point behind this is the much publicized of late allegations of excessive force used by Police in various circumstances. A few notes about this label. It is important not to paint an entire organization of 200 000 people with the same brush over the actions of a particular person or small group. Second, I have lost count of the number of citizens who, after I arrest a suspect, encourage me to “give him a good hiding”. Now if I had to do as you command (pretending I am a mindless automaton) will you stand with me in court when I get charged criminally for my actions?

Despite what the press and your tennis club will tell you, Police men and women are not badly trained. Qualified and experienced instructors educate all Police recruits for six months at College, Field Trainers add to that at station level and later we still go on new and refresher courses to help us deal with everything from crime scenes, domestic violence to riot situations. It is part of our yearly evaluation that we have completed required courses by certain dates. As a new piece of legislation that pertains to us comes up, we are sent on workshops and have to complete tests or practical assignments to show we have learnt the module.

The recent incident in Ficksburg where a protestor was beaten and shot and later died of his injuries, may not be the best example, but let’s examine what we know nonetheless. I will try not to make a public judgment call on the actions of the Police, but I can as anyone else would, suggest that the incident could have been dealt with a lot differently. The Police members on that scene could have acted with more restraint but we do not know what happened immediately before the action. We do not know the state of mind of the Police, what may have heightened their behavior, all we know is a 30 second clip the news channels have insisted on playing out for two days in a row (so far) as their leading story. As in all situations like this, there are always experts who will give you their side of the story and others who will give you another. Only the members involved will know why they did what they did. I believe that man should not have died by Police hands. If one or a few are to be found to have acted negligently or even deliberately, they will face the consequences.

Police men and women are human. We like every-one else are fallible. Mistakes do happen. The main issue being that if we make mistakes the repercussions on both the community and us are huge. That, you have to admit is an enormous responsibility. The individual, not the collective is responsible for his or her actions and are compelled to justify every incident where any level of force is used. Organizations such as the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) are in existence to enforce transparency and accountability in the Police. Despite what experts around the braai will tell you, things do not get swept under the carpet, as recent media will testify. Even if I fire a warning shot into your rose garden to halt an aggressive criminal, I still have to complete a shooting report and justify my action. This is an element of a Democracy.

What follows is definitely not meant as an excuse, but to put you in the shoes of someone on the ground in action. In a crowd, let alone full blown riot situation, the Police attending the situation are always outnumbered. I have been in situations where ten of us have faced a mob of about a thousand. Now imagine if that crowd decides to overrun us, assault us or start throwing rocks. Better still, like recently, 15kg steel fire extinguishers fly down from three stories up. Not all of us have shields or helmets mainly because we at station level don’t keep those in stock. How do I as an individual defend myself? I cannot use my sidearm with sharp ammunition because a threat to my life has not been established. (I’m not sure though if I would survive 15kg of metal landing on me!) I have a tonfa (baton) and/or a shotgun with rubber bullets. In a crowd situation I may not act alone, I must get an instruction from a senior Officer. Have you stood a line with nine colleagues against a mob of 1000 who have started burning property and throwing bits of concrete at you? How will your nerve hold out? Or will you have a severe urge to run away. See, the nature of the animal is that Policemen do not run away. We do not back down. We are the “thin blue line” between anarchy and peace. By our nature we are fighters and survivors. So when the populace sits safely in front of their televisions passing comment and criticism, I am expected to stand for five or six hours, poker face and stare down the opposition. I can tell you that few have experienced trying to take cover when rocks the size of pot plants come flying past your face or, like a few weeks ago, a whole washing machine lands within spitting distance. It gets hairy out there and just like any human, I get angry and want to retaliate. I want to hurt someone for trying to injure friends and I who are just doing our job. It takes a phenomenal amount of discipline and restraint to hold back and obey orders.

I wonder if that incident in Ficksburg was just the levee breaking. Do we know, as I said before, what transpired leading up to that incident? With what I have explained, please consider the following if you watch the footage on TV again. An Officer points out the man without his shirt and one policeman tries to grab him. The man resists and the others come in with batons (possibly unnecessarily) and try to subdue him. You can see in the film clip that despite several strikes, the man is extremely strong and still fights back with one policeman ending up on the floor almost underneath him. Somewhere in this melee a shot is fired from the right of the picture. Could, in that split instant, the shooter decided that more force was necessary to get the man under control? Was he wrong? Was he just undisciplined or in the panic did his finger squeeze unconsciously? Could the man have been brought under control by sheer numbers of Policemen grabbing him? Possibly yes. Do we believe the officials began striking him with an intention of eventually killing him? I don’t believe so. Do we think basically things just got out of control and turned pear shaped in one second flat. Yes?

The final thing I would like to consider when discussing Police action is this. I too have a family. My colleagues also have children at home waiting for them. When one of us is killed, do you see E-TV shoving a camera in the widow’s face and making a big human rights issue out of it? The answer is no. Because, According to the statistics of policemen killed, if they did, they would be doing that every night of the year. Did you even know that’s how many of us die protecting your right to a safe existence?

Student Demonstrations at University of KZN - Westville - 09 April 3011
Last week students at the UKZN chose to demonstrate there discontent over fees and accommodation charges by boycotting lectures and demonstrating there concerns. The Constitution allows freedom of expression and the right to assemble. A few of the images taken at the scene shown plus statements from witnesses suggest that by the average right thinking citizen's norms some students behaved badly. It has been reported that items such as chairs, fire extinguishers and even a refrigerator were thrown from upper levels of the one building.

This seems to be a trend with such events as witnessed with municipal workers trashing street furniture and irate residents burning tyres in the street and throwing objects at police vehicles.

Is it not conceivable that these items need to be repaired and or replaced? The cost of these exercises must come from the very same institutions that are being challenged for financial relief by those very same demonstrators.

Who pays for the damage? The taxpayer! Demonstrators may on rare occasions pay token fines but do they ever asked to repay the actual damage costs?

Does the average citizen condone this behaviour? If there are no significant punitive responses from the courts then will it ever stop?

Just for the record there is an accepted fact that the behaviour as a member of a group is likely to allow the individuals to take more risk they would be the case if they were alone.  Even in businesses managers exploit this behavioral trait.  If a manager has a leaning for his subordinates to agree to a change that has an element of risk then if he wishes for these people to take the risk he will get them as a group to discuss and vote on the matter whereas if he would prefer the staff to agree to a more conservative decision he will ask them individually which option they personally prefer.  This is known as "risky shift". It is a subtle way to apply a bit of bias to the outcome without alienating his staff.  In the demonstrators situation the organisers do not wish the mob to individually choose what action should be taken.

What is disturbing is the fact that a large contingent of SAPF members were needed to control the demonstrators and those human and vehicle resources no doubt compromise the normal policing functions.

To the Editor - 23 February 2011

I am a long time resident of Westville and I have always enjoyed being so. But a couple of things were brought to my attention recently and they have disturbed me quite a bit. A lot of people complain about crime, the police and how the police conduct themselves, however, the other day I saw something that I believe needs to be investigated and an official answer given on their behalf.

I was outside the First National Bank on Buckingham terrace near the Kentucky when I saw a SAP policeman in uniform want to go into the bank. The guard outside made him hand in his pistol! After I was finished I asked the guard why the police have to hand in their guns and he said it was bank policy! Now what would have happened to me or any other bank customer if something had happened inside the bank and there was a perfectly good police man with no gun?

If I was a criminal who wanted to shoot policemen, the easiest way to do it would be to sit outside any First National Bank until a policeman came out and had to ask a security guard and wait for his gun back.

To me this is a serious case of disrespect to our boys in blue. Don’t FNB managers trust the police? If they don’t trust them, who can? I do! I really don’t understand how a policeman can be trained to use a gun and use it to save my life anywhere in the country except in a First National Bank branch.

A few days later I went to other banks in Westville and asked very casually if they allowed policemen in uniform into the branch while armed. Well, in each case the person said they welcomed policemen into their bank even with their guns. If I was a bank manager I would want as many big guys with guns in my branch as possible. The criminals would run a mile!

I want to know if this stupid policy is only at Westville or everywhere, and why can’t the Westville branch of FNB make an exception. I think in this country where crime is a problem it is a real shame that a business DISARMS the police who are both customers and protectors. I want a REAL answer, not just THAT’S our policy. OK?

Yours faithfully

Name withheld

PS: If that bank manager had a problem at his home, would he force the police to hand in their guns before they come onto his property to confront criminals?  If not, what is the difference?

WCPFL-2011-20-23a

Consider the following: 
1.You have a car that for convenience is rarely in a lockable garage and secondly it is a pain to have to open the gate every time you leave or return. You are in the majority as the records show that the majority of cases of vehicles stolen  from private property happen because the gate is left open.

2. You have an up to date alarm system but you do not switch it on when you go out. You are by far in the majority.

3. Do you get upset when the police are later than you would expect responding to a serious incident? 
You don't have a clearly visible house number, if not you and most of your neighbours are the same. The police know your street well but not always every number and are delayed because they are trying to find your house or all available members are attending to crime scenes that fall into categories 1 and 2 above. Think it through. If the number of crimes taking place could be reduced by acknowledging the above and doing something about it you might just get a response before your incident occurred. 

Why not come to a Community Policing Forum Meeting and get to know the dedicated people who are not just tasked with reducing crime but also do it because they believe in what they are doing. Despite the irritations they are making progress and need to know that their efforts are appreciated.

If you have the time give some feedback on the above.

Down under, in Europe and the USA the health authorities have been concerned with the growing trend of binge drinking amongst young people. In Australia it is law that all packaging containing alcoholic drinks must clearly display the number of "Standard Drinks" within. The health authorities claim that long term damage will be done if alcohol is abused.

Click on the following articles in .pdf format to open to read online and or print.

Standard Drink Table
Fact Sheet Standard Drink

So far as drinking and driving is concerned the max level of blood alcohol is 0,05. That means 2 standard drinks in an hour plus 1 standard drink in the ensuing hour puts you at the LIMIT though weight, health, and food consumption can modify this rule of thumb.

STANDARD DRINK CALCULATOR

To calculate how much of any alcoholic beverage equals one standard drink is quite simple.

A Standard Drink is 10grams of alcohol. This equates to a volume of 12.5ml of pure alcohol.

If you know the Volume of the container and the % alcohol by volume you can determine how many standard drinks in that container. 

Examples.
1.If a 750ml bottle of white wine is labeled  eVol 13.5%.  Multiply 750 x 0.135 to get 101.25ml alcohol in that bottle!. Now divide by 12.5 (101.25 / 12.5 = 8.1 STANDARD DRINKS. It is that simple if you have not been drinking.

2. A bottle of beer at 375ml and 4.8% alcohol. ("pint")
375 x 0.048 / 12.5 = 1.44 STANDARD DRINKS

3. Local spirits are 43% alcohol because they are derived from Government controlled 'Wine Spirit' made from surplus chennin blanc that is regulated to be 43% alcohol by volume. Therefore a 750 ml bottle of brandy, cane, vodka, gin etc is as follows. 750 x 0.43 / 12.5 = 25.8 STANDARD DRINKS.

4. If you mix spirits with anything then calculate on the actual number of tots at 30ml each.
A double brandy with a litre of coke or 100ml of coffee is the same. 2 x 30 /12.5 = 4.8 STANDARD DRINKS

5. A 5 litre cask of red wine might be at 14% alcohol.
5000ml x 14% / 12.5 = 5000 x 0.14 /12.5 = 56 STANDARD DRINKS 

Consensus amongst health authorities in developed countries indicates that 2 Standard Drinks a day is about the maximum for low risk consumption though this is subject to having at least 2 days free of alcohol per week. If your health is not excellent then this might be too much.

 - by Andy Tribe

Two facts about human beings: We are selfish, and we are dishonest. Who reading this can say they have never, ever been one or both of these things? I’m not saying that for a large proportion of our lives we are not actually very honest and quite generous, it just happens that at particular times in our lives we shed the skin of humanity and a something else is revealed.

I don’t really want to harp on about a “Culture” of dishonesty, mainly because I do not have degrees in Sociology. But, there is a causal link between the young child who denies taking the last sweet to the adult who swears blind that he was not talking on his cell phone when he hit that pedestrian. Is the instinct of denial of culpability simply a survival reflex, or is it, now let’s be really honest, taught and encouraged?

Somehow there seems to be the attitude that “beating the system” no matter how nefariously appears quite justified in people’s minds, like they have a right to cheat or lie even though they know it is wrong, let alone sometimes downright criminal. Here we can cover a wide area of battlefield from not putting licence plates on your car to ducking the taxman.

The Independent on Saturday, 23 October ran a very pertinent article in their Personal Finance section. It covered Insurance Fraud and the consequences of inflating insurance claims. Insurance companies, despite what many would believe, are tightening their belts and investigating more claims that appear inflated and or fraudulent. The article goes on to explain the repercussions of being found out in your false or inflated claim.

Firstly the insurance company can open a criminal case of fraud against you and cancel your contract. This will be serious inconvenience as the evidence against you will consist of the same claim you have submitted.

Being found guilty of insurance fraud will make it rather difficult to take out any future policies. Try finance a house or car with that conviction over you. I wouldn’t insure you.

Second, Brian Martin, the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance has a few more recourses against you.

He can do the following:

You could forfeit your entire claim, or even have a penalty imposed against the valid part of your claim.

How this works is quoted from the same newspaper article. “…(the ombudsman) does not believe that you should be able to commit fraud with impunity. The penalty should match the misrepresentation of the claim. For example, if you inflate your claim by 10%, you should forfeit 10% of the valid claim.”

In figures, this means that if you claim R25 000 but that figure you have inflated by R5000, if the insurance company finds you out and still decides to pay you out, you will be paid R20 000 MINUS R5000 so you will only get R15 000.

Please be aware that some insurers have introduced clauses in their policies that state that you forfeit all benefits if you use any fraudulent means or devices to claim those benefits.

Sometimes however, the inflation of a claim can be made unintentionally or through ignorance, but is nonetheless unlawful. Quoted again: “The most common belief is that you should start off with a high claim from which you can bargain down…”

Also, “Some people inflate their claims to compensate for the excess they will have to pay.”

A key element should be that you get an accurate valuation of the item/s you which to claim against. Remember, some things depreciate in value, cars for instance. Your granny’s wedding ring might have been “worth thousands” to you, but if it had been valued by a jeweler or antique dealer, it may actually be worth a fraction of that.

Forget the wild stories around the bar or campfire, if those people were willing to risk their liberty and good name, then that is their business. In my opinion, the highest law in the land is not the Constitution, its Murphy’s.

Take the chance. But then take the consequences like a man. Honesty is still the best policy.

Most people will ask what on earth is a 'hoon" driver!

An example of the use of this word was in an article in "The Sunday Age", Melbourne, Australia as long ago as 17 October 2004. The headline read, "Plans to seize hoons' cars". The article gave the following examples of "hoon driving behaviour": "excess noise, illegal street racing, refusal to leave a public place, exhibitions of acceleration and burn-outs".

These plans have been made into law and to stress the severity of the anti social behaviour exhibited by hoon drivers the laws are by our standards severe. If the police consider driving behaviour to be a nuisance or a threat to the safety of the driver and or others. e.g. excessive speed, loud exhaust, wheel spins, doughnuts and figure of eights to name a few, the offender's car is impounded for 7 days. For a second offense the vehicle is impounded for 3 months. This is regardless of who the car actually belongs to.  .  Here's the serious bit.  If a vehicle is involved in a third offense deemed to be hoon behaviour it is confiscated and crushed. Any parts having value may be stripped by the police and sold prior to crushing. If it can be proven that the car was stolen the police will make every effort to return it to the rightful owner - before stripping and crushing.

Are these laws a bit over the top?  Not at all when you see the fatalities that occur as a result of this behaviour.  However, for those who enjoy the thrills of such behaviour there are properly organised events that have been sanctioned for those who wish to show their skills in a relatively safe environment. The next major event where hoon driving is to be practiced in a condoned event with back up safety in place is on 11th October where 32 cars will bash and bend each other over a 5 hour race period covering 1000km. This will be at Bathurst, 200km West of Sydney. These cars are V8s limited to 5l engine capacity that peak at 300kph and whose brake temperatures reach 700degrees Fahrenheit. 

The following Article was copied from the South African Police Union Website.

http://www.sapu.org.za/Media_Releases/2010/May/Salary_negotiations_sapu_declares_dispute.html

"Salary negotiations - SAPU declares dispute

- 21 May 2010

The South African Policing Union (SAPU) would like to express it dismay, anger and disappointment at the attitude of government negotiators in the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC). To say we are embarrassed to declare a dispute during these early stages of negotiations is an understatement. SAPU would like to call upon the political principals of the Department of Public Service and Administration to give leadership.

A group of public sector unions including SAPU were forced to declare a dispute last night (Thursday 20 May 2010) after we have realized that the government came with an offer of 5,2% in salary increment whilst were demanding 11 %. This government offer is well below even to the 5,3 % CPIX. There’s no way that we can go to members with such an insult. This is totally unacceptable.

We also find it totally unacceptable that the government wanted to postpone salary negotiations until the end of July. As we have declared a dispute we are now heading for mediation whom we believe might assist the parties before the situation gets out of control. It is also extremely unfair that this salary increment offer is only linked to the basic salary. This means it excludes medical aid and other benefits like car allowance, whilst the senior management packages will always be inclusive of these benefits.

It is a disaster with the police as recently Polmed-the police medical aid increased premiums whilst there is no increase in benefits. We call upon the government to be an exemplary employer, there is no way that public servants will be motivated if they are being paid peanuts. Although there is no justification for bribery and shoddy service rendered, we must avoid at all costs instances that will expose public servants to temptation."

My comment is simply to ask the question.  Is this fair that the Police, who are tasked with making our lives safe from crime are expected to accept a paltry increase and are not permitted to strike in protest. Compare this to the seemingly over staffed parastatals that can hold the country to ransom are permitted to strike, cost the countries economy billions of Rands and get double digit increases for their trouble.

P S There seems to be a slightly better offer around 6,2% on the table since this article was published.

From L T a concerned Westville resident.

April 2010
FINANCIAL GUIDANCE: In today's difficult financial meltdown those who still have an income might need some investment advice. - "October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in the stock market. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, August and February." 

Which brings me to the question of why a criminal does what he does? Certainly one of the answers has to be because we, as members of the community, place easy temptations in his way which encourage him to make a living without much strain attached. 
Shoplifting today has become a major business for the perpetrator and a progressively larger headache for the trader. I recently heard of cases where, in one day, a man had loaded a bakkie with items lifted from a shopping centre and a large woman who was caught taking out her third turkey for the day, hidden in a specially designed bag carried between her legs. It possibly all started with an easy temptation offered by a store display, and the thought that “nothing much will happen to me over such a small offence.” I believe that it would give up a very interesting statistic if we could find an answer to the question: “What percentage of the community, at all levels, have at some stage in their lives succumbed to trying out a bit of petty theft?” 

So our World Sportsman has fallen from grace. He has also become a figure of fun, being the brunt of hundreds of jokes associated with his misdeed. I find myself tempted to ask: “Was this just the tip of the iceberg and is there more to come?” 
The messages I would like to pass on to you are: “You may not be all that famous, but don’t think it couldn’t happen to you. And please think very hard before you place temptation in the way of someone else.”
Perhaps we could start off the New Year with a bit of positive news for the media by changing the headlines to: “CRIME REDUCED BY 80% IN OUR RESIDENTIAL AREA.” Now wouldn’t that be great! 

Comment/feedback directly to Julian Carter:  cardru@saol.com 
Comment/feedback directly to WCPF committee: westville-saps@saps.org.za

I have always looked upon the question of crime statistics as a bit of “storm in a teacup”, although my views are not shared by all. Ask yourself what you will do with any given detailed statistics and I believe that most of you will have to answer “nothing, other than discuss them at the next dinner party.” 

What you actually want to know is that there is an increasing/decreasing trend towards a certain type of crime in your area and the methods being used in both perpetrating the crime and protecting against it. Both of these can be achieved by regularly attending your local CPF meetings which, in the case of Westville, are held at the Baptist Church opposite the Westville Spar in Church Road at 18h00 on the third Tuesday of each month. See you there!

Comment/feedback directly to Julian Carter:  cardru@saol.com 
Comment/feedback directly to WCPF committee: westville-saps@saps.org.za