Hon Speaker, hon members, no one in this Parliament can refute the fact that our law enforcement forces are confronted with perilous situations as they seek to ensure the safety of the nation. Having said that, at no point in my address to the station commanders and other leaders of the police force did I give police a licence to shoot suspects in circumstances other than those provided for by the law.
It is worth reiterating what I told the station commanders, and I'll quote what I said so that there will be no misunderstanding:
As you are aware, we seek to strengthen the hand of the police in dealing with violent criminals. We intend to finalise amendments to section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act, with a view to taking the amendments to Parliament soon. This is a measure aimed specifically at dealing with serious violent crime and dangerous criminals.
It is the duty of the police to protect all people against injury or loss of life. But when their lives or the lives of innocent civilians are threatened, police sometimes have no choice but to use lethal force to defend themselves and others. We expect our police officers to observe the law and respect the rights of innocent citizens, at all times.
The Criminal Procedure Act deals with the use of force in effecting arrest. In our view, where the law still exhibits gaps that impact negatively on the ability of the police to perform their work effectively, then such gaps in the law must be addressed without delay. This includes the use of deadly force, as provided for and defined in our legislation.
As the Minister of Police has already said in this House, the technical amendments to section 49 will take cognisance of the founding principles of our Constitution. The exact detail of the wording of this amendment is being finalised and still has to be submitted to Cabinet for ratification.
Police recruits undertake general training, part of which includes equipping them with the skills and knowledge required for them to use deadly force under the circumstances stipulated by law. But that training needs to be improved.
Therefore, the proposed amendments that seek to provide more clarity need to be complemented by the training of all police officers on the relevant sections of the legislation. Section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977 refers to "an arrestor", who can be any person who is authorised in terms of the Act to effect an arrest, including a citizen's arrest.
In light of the work still being undertaken, it is not possible to say what effect, if any, the proposed amendment would have on this provision. I thank you, hon Speaker. [Applause.]