Fat officers are office bound
ALEXANDRA - Effective law enforcement is contingent on a range of factors at a personal, station and management level within the policing system.
Effective law enforcement is dependent on a range of factors at a personal, station and management level within the policing system.
This was said at the unveiling of the provincial department of community safety’s vision and plans by Major General Phumzo Gela, in response to a query about the relationship of physical fitness of some police officers, and their effectiveness in executing their duties.
It is not uncommon to see police officers struggling to carry about their weight in the course of duty, raising concern on whether they would be able to run to apprehend suspects.
South Africa is ranked third after the USA and Britain for obesity levels, with 61 percent of the country’s population and 70 percent of women over 35 years being overweight. The country contributes a significant number to the 2.8 million people globally who die of obesity-related problems annually.
Gela said obese officers seen in uniform were office-bound workers whose duty was to answer phones and push pens.
Major General Dimakatso Ndaba helped clarify the situation stating that the department had a health and wellness programme conducted in Benoni and Pretoria for officers struggling with fitness. “The officers are enlisted to the programme for six weeks, and after that monitored weekly and also encouraged to dedicate three days per week to exercises,” she said.
Speaking at the same occasion in response to a question on low police visibility in many areas, Metro police spokesperson, Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said an impression could be created of a police absence, but alerted the public to the presence of many officers in civilian clothing. He said these officers occasionally left their vehicles to be on foot patrol.
“This has resulted in many apprehensions and in a significant drop in crime,” he said. “The public realised the presence of these officers only when they effected arrests.”
Minnaar added that as a result of these plain clothes officers, bank robberies, smash and grabs and theft of manhole covers in the inner city of Johannesburg had reduced significantly. The installation of 240 CCTV cameras in the city had also helped in reducing crime.
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