PRETORIA, Gauteng — While recent statistics show a welcome decline in on-duty casualties, independent crime and public violence expert Professor Jacob Mofokeng warns that the true state of South African police safety remains in critical jeopardy due to a staggering number of off-duty executions.
Recent data indicates that the number of police officers killed in the line of duty has thankfully decreased over the last few years—dropping from 39 officers in the 2023/2024 period, to 27 in 2024/2025, and down to 12 in the past year. These 12 fallen officers were recently honored, with their names added to the official roll of honour at the Union Buildings.
However, Professor Mofokeng, who serves in the Department of Criminology and Security Science at the University of South Africa (UNISA), cautions the public and policymakers against indulging in a “false sense of security.” He argues that these on-duty statistics are deeply fragile and represent a structural underreporting of the broader threat landscape.
According to Mofokeng, focusing solely on on-duty deaths completely erases the dozens of off-duty officers who are targeted, ambushed, and executed in their driveways, along transit routes, and in their beds. Historical data reveals a chilling reality: approximately 60% of all police officers killed in the country are murdered while off-duty.
A significant driver of this vulnerability is the living conditions imposed on law enforcement personnel. The state frequently forces low-ranking constables to reside in highly volatile, heavily policed informal settlements. Consequently, these officers are forced to live side-by-side with the very criminal elements they arrest on a daily basis. Because criminals are well aware that these off-duty guardians possess state-issued firearms, they are treated as prime targets for assassination at local shops or in their own homes.
Referencing a recent sentiment shared by the President, Mofokeng noted that a nation reveals its character not only in how it remembers those who serve it, but in what it does to protect them. Measured by that precise standard, he asserts that the country is currently failing its moral test. Every officer lost—whether on or off duty—leaves behind a devastated family, including pregnant spouses and elderly dependents, making the normalization of these killings a profound national tragedy.
The conversation around law enforcement survival also extends to the escalating firepower of criminal networks. Mofokeng pointed out that criminals are no longer just wielding 9mm pistols stolen from police; they are heavily armed with assault rifles and high-caliber firearms, a steady supply facilitated by porous borders. This influx of military-grade weapons has resulted in a notable increase in violent gun battles between suspects and police, particularly in provinces like KwaZulu-Natal.
In response to the dangers faced by officers, policing unions have heavily debated the need to amend Section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act. The proposed amendments aim to provide officers with greater legal certainty and cover when utilizing deadly force to effect arrests.
Addressing the legal framework, Mofokeng offered a nuanced perspective on the severity of these crimes. He noted that while not every attack on a police officer constitutes treason in the traditional, historical sense of overthrowing the state, the actions of organized criminal syndicates are crossing a dangerous line. When syndicates systematically target police officers to destabilize state authority, intimidate communities, and render policing ineffective, the conduct begins to closely resemble an attack on the constitutional order itself.
Whether the government introduces a specific aggravated offense or expands existing legislation remains a policy question. However, Mofokeng stressed that it is beyond debate that attacks on law enforcement must be met with the severest legal consequences available under the law to dismantle the rewards and desires of the syndicates targeting them.
