Cape Town - More police officers have been in the firing line of criminals, with 27 officers losing their lives at the hands of criminals between October and December last year.
SAPS head of crime research, Maj-General Thulare Sekhukhune, said out of the 27 officers killed, most perished in KwaZulu-Natal.
“We have recorded 27 members of the SAPS that were killed compared to the previous quarter, which was 25. We have two more officers killed in the current quarter than the previous quarter,” said Sekhukune.
He added that 20 of the SAPS members who were killed were off duty and seven were on duty. But most of the murders happened in one province. He said nine off-duty police officers were killed in KZN and three on-duty officers lost their lives.
In Gauteng, two on-duty officers were killed, while three were off duty when they were slain.
Two police officers were killed in the Eastern Cape, one in the Free State, two in Limpopo, two in Mpumalanga and three in the Western Cape.
The murder of police officers has been going for many years with Police Minister Bheki Cele calling for strong action against those behind the killing of officers.
Sekhukhune said more police officers were killed in the third quarter, compared to the second quarter.
Political Bureau