POPCRU unhappy over killing of Correctional Officials
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) has said it is hysterical over continuous altercations among correctional centres.
This follows an incident early this month where two correctional officers were attacked.
POPCRU DESCRIBES MOMENTS LEADING TO THE TRAGEDY
According to POPCRU, the two correctional officials under the Community Corrections were tracing an absconder in the area of Duduza in Ekurhuleni, when they were brutally attacked, and their firearm stolen.
“While one official passed away at the scene, the other succumbed to his injuries while receiving medical attention at Pholosong Hospital,” the statement read.
“The nature and conditions of the work conducted by members within the criminal justice cluster in its entirety are such that incidents of this nature cannot fully be prevented. However, more effective measures can be put in place to minimise their occurrence, and this includes ensuring members have sufficient tools of trade, work within the defined conditions, overcrowding and understaffing challenges are addressed among others,”
POPCRU
As these officers are to be laid to rest over the coming weekend, the organisation pleaded with the DCS management to ensure that whenever officers are deployed both within centres and to communities, they are adequately equipped to handle whatever confrontation they might face.
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OFFICERS CAUTIONED ABOUT VIGILANCE
Furthermore, POPCRU urged officers to be wary of the conditions within which they are deployed in ensuring their safety is prioritised.
“As a union, we have long warned about the adverse impacts of understaffing and overcrowding within our correctional centres, and the risks such conditions bring not only to officers but also to the entire process of rehabilitation which is the core mandate of the DCS.
We believe the process of ensuring our centres become self-sufficient will go a long way in ensuring aspects of the challenges faced by the department are eradicated,” POPCRU concluded.