The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) called on all Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) affiliates and tripartite alliance partners on Thursday to bring an end to police killings.
”We, including senior alliance officials, need to mobilise the entire society to actively participate in condemning the killing of law enforcement officers,” Popcru said in a Cosatu dossier discussed on Thursday — the last day of the labour federation’s national congress in Midrand, north of Johannesburg.
The union called on Cosatu members to join the ranks of the police reservists and participate in community police forums in order to curb police killings, and added that it would ”be wise” to engage in programmes aimed at transforming the training component of the criminal justice system, in terms of culture, methodology and content ”to inculcate a strong sense of patriotism”.
The alliance comprises Cosatu, the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party.
Popcru said the anti-police hostility created deliberately due to apartheid-era policing methods still prevailed despite new democratic conditions.
”This historical role played by the police led to sentiments of antagonism between police and communities,” it said.
In addition, current police training and methodology was still not sensitive or geared towards bridging this gap, the union said in the 100-page dossier called Consolidated Resolutions.
Popcru also proposed that the labour federation influence the school syllabus to help erode the stigma associated with the police, especially in the townships. The school syllabus should include subjects such as dispute resolution mechanisms, stress and trauma management, victim empowerment and community policing.
”The lack of dispute resolution mechanism(s) in the school curriculum and in our communities as well as lack of sufficient and qualitative social programmes leads to poor police and community relations,” Popcru said.
Later on Thursday, the union federation is to announce the outcome of its elections for a new president. The new president is scheduled to address delegates and officially conclude the gathering, which began on Monday. — Sapa
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