'The police are not the enemy’

Attacks on the police hurt both the police and the communities they serve - that was the message from the Grassy Park police and the Grassy Park Youth Desk Crime Prevention Unit at a roadblock in Lotus River, last Friday, as part of Police Safety Month, this September.

Saadiqah Ganief, the deputy chairperson of the unit, said the police did a “thankless job” in the community, sometimes at the cost of their lives.

“We are advocating for the communities to stop attacking the police when they are busy executing their duties. Do not stone their vehicles when they are out on the road patrolling,” she said.

Hindering officers and damaging state vehicles eroded policing in those communities.

“Let's work together and combat crime as one unit. Let's work together with the police to get better results in policing and crime prevention, as the police are not the enemy.”

Grassy Park police station commander Colonel Dawood Laing said: "So many people are complaining about the police, but they are killing the police; attacking the police when they are executing their duties. We are also just human beings and we are upholding the constitution."