Dear Fellow South Africans
I counted two bursts of semi-automatic gunfire. Later a video surfaced. It was more a sound recording. No one in his or her right mind shows a face at a window at times like this. This could have been a Hollywood movie - Durban Drug Wars. Small arms fire semi automatic fire and Lord knows what else. The 50 or so rounds that were fired were not Hollywood props, The screams were not from extras. The blood must have been real enough.
Kudos to the police this time. They actually turned up in time to get their van shot at. Perhaps there will even be arrests. Well, let's not get carried away.
What is usually missing amid the crashing of gunfire and the screams of terror is the wailing of police sirens. The police station is within easy hearing distance. The gun battles are audible over half the suburb. Would some of the excuses in the past have been:
Eish, we had no van.
Eish, all our officers were out.
Eish, there were no celebrities involved? Eish, the station was being robbed.
Eish, we were waiting for backup / firearms / vests / Godot.
Eish!
There is no point in lambasting Mr Cele. The poor fellow has clearly demonstrated that he is as out of his depth as a toddler thrown into the deep end of a pool for the first time. Can anyone explain what the commissioners, generals, colonels, lieutenants and other impressively titled coppers do?
Apart from attending Important Conferences and bumping into one another at state funeral parades. I assume that they are handsomely rewarded for those pretty titles and pretty uniforms. We know that intelligence does not always rhyme with police in some countries (not ours, of course - Good Lord!) But we do have police intelligence do we not? I would love to see the list of cases that they have actually cracked. Shouldn't be hard. I suspect that it would be rather brief.
Police people, we watch TV. We see how the police in other countries operate. We know that they are not all Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot or Columbo. They are ordinary policemen who work hard and methodically. Their genius lies in never letting go, following every lead from every angle, being guided by their experience and sometimes a spark of inspiration. They use technology that works. They communicate with fellow officers in other divisions and areas.
They are not reluctant to call for community help (including local TV stations) and many cases are solved on the basis of tips received. They knock on many doors and walk the streets, the silly buggers.
Mr Cele might argue that we don't have the resources to cope with population growth. Yours to find solutions, dear man, not obstacles or scapegoats. That's why your pay packet is chubbier than ours. That's why you have nice houses and cars at our expense. And can jet from coast to coast, philosophizing about the dating habits of zama zamas, the morally corrupting effects of tattoos and the dangers of population growth. All that wonderful Advanced Policing stuff that has stuff-all to do with our bloody, dangerous reality.
Talking of what real police officers do in other countries, which of those boxes do you tick, dear South African police?
Please note that a talent for sleeping anywhere at any time is not among the boxes to be ticked. How many of you see police work as a vocation? How many as a vacation between paydays? Here's a hint: when you played Cops and Robbers as a kid, did you usually play the cop part or the robber part?
Some advice: if all that you get out of your police career are good sleep opportunities, then I suggest that you reinvent yourself. Go into politics. Counsellors not only have sleep opportunities but there's dancing and singing as well and good chow. Make some room for young people who really want to make a career out of law and order. You may not be familiar with those terms. Doctor Google can help. I think you have time enough between naps to consult with him.
Go on. Who dares, wins.
Yours in the almost lost struggle for law and order.
Richard
Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted
Capitec Bank, South Africa
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