JOHANNESBURG - Head of the Hawks, Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya, has slammed criminals who are increasingly targeting police officers.
He warns that such attacks are a deliberate attempt to instill fear on officials.
“These perpetrators seek to enforce fear among officials because they are the barrier between criminals and law-abiding citizens,” said Lieutenant General.
He emphasised that police will not be intimidated and will continue to serve and protect without fear.
"Our members will continue to execute their work without fear. They know the danger associated with policing. But we appreciate that whenever this type of incident happens we always get information from members of the public that provide the whereabouts of the individuals because they know that police are there to protect them," he said.
During the Police Summit in Kempton Park on Wednesday Lebeya revealed that since taking office in June 2018, the Hawks have made more than 17,136 arrests.
Of those, over 12,607 suspects appeared in court, resulting in 4,677 convictions by the last quarter of the financial year.
Despite this he raised concerns about the shortage of personnel on the ground.
He says as the country's population rises there is a need to increase the system so it can cope with the growth.
He added that increasing the number of police officers must be accompanied by a rise in the number of prosecutors, judges, and magistrates to ensure the justice system can handle the increasing number of cases being brought before the courts.