/ 16 January 2007

Shake-up leaves some cops in the dark

The restructuring of the country’s police management system has left some officers in the dark on where to report for duty next week, News24 reported on Tuesday.

Although some officers in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal had to start working at their new offices by Monday, not all of them had been informed yet.

”Some of the officers have been informed, and the process to inform others is unfolding. We expect to get word to everyone by the end of the week,” said acting national police spokesperson Vishnu Naidoo.

This meant some police personnel would only have the weekend to prepare for the move.

Political parties have voiced criticism of the planned restructuring, which will include the closure of specialised units that dealt with serious and violent crimes.

Naidoo confirmed that the serious and violent crime units were all being disbanded.

He said the area units for crime prevention, protection of children and units against organised crime would be restructured. Staff had been asked to complete skills audit forms.

”We decided in this way what their skills were and how we could best deploy them where they were most needed,” said Naidoo.

”Staff are placed as close as possible to their loved ones, so that they don’t have to move house.” – Sapa