VHEMBE DISTRICT – The SAPS Provincial Corporate Communication in Limpopo conducted yet another successful Police Safety, Murder and Suicide Prevention awareness campaign in Vhembe District board room on Monday, Monday 12 September 2022.
This campaign that is aimed at empowering members of the organization with life and technical skills that will enable them to function optimally and take decisive decisions in life threatening situations and ensure their safety on and off duty was led by Lieutenant Colonel Ledwaba and Captain Magoro, accompanied by interns, Lerato Kgaka and Rendani Raliphaswa.
In the recent past, the organization has experienced an upsurge of Police members who have lsot their lives in the line of duty and those who murder their partners and subsequently commit suicide. It is against this background that a plan was developed to curb this problem. The safety, health and wellness of the members is crucial to the functioning of the organization, as such, it is very important that members learn new life skills in order to adapt to the new and emerging challenges and also to be able to deal efficiently and effectively with domestic related challenges.
As the program unfolded, Captain Magoro took the stage and addressed the members on murder and suicide by members of the organization. He further encouraged members to always look on the positive side and have options for any eventuality. Captain Magoro posed mind provoking questions to the members who then gave different and honest answers that proved the necessity for programmes like this.
He was followed by Lieutenant Colonel Ledwaba who shared light on Police Safety. In his presentation, he put more emphasis on how Police can protect themselves from potential danger by staying vigilant at all times. He further indicated that police are targets because of various reasons and one such is that criminals are looking for firearms and if one is not careful, he or she might fall prey to the criminals and get disarmed. In addition, he highlighted the importance of the on and off duty parades, safety precautions when making arrests, proper restraining measures, taking precautions when escorting suspects to and from prison or court, attending of complaints, correct dress code, having proper equipment and being combat ready. Moreover, he urged members to refrain from posing on social media in uniform and realise how dangerous it can become to their lives and how it can affect their job when disciplinary actions are taken against them.
In conclusion, he urged members to spread the word to those who didn’t manage to attend, so that the message of safety can reach more members as possible.
Source: South African Police Service