Gauteng Government addresses training concerns following shooting of crime wardens

JOHANNESBURG - Following the shooting of five Gauteng crime prevention wardens, the provincial government said they are not yet trained to handle firearms.

The wardens were shot during a regular patrol in Daveyton on Sunday morning by a group of unknown individuals.

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All of the wardens suffered gunshot wounds; however, one has been discharged from the hospital, three are in stable conditions, and one is in the intensive care unit (ICU)

Since the establishment of the Gauteng crime prevention wardens, there have been concerns over their training and how equipped they are to deal with criminals in the country’s most crime-ridden province.

During a hospital visit to some of the injured wardens in Gauteng, Premier Panyaza Lesufi, the brainchild behind the programme, says their training is done on a continuous basis.

“Obviously, they have not been trained at an advanced level where people expect them to be trained because they were not meant to go toe-to-toe with CIT (cash-in-transit robbers), for example or taxi violence. They were meant to give additional support to law enforcement agencies. Now that they have been doing that for 3 years, we are of the strong view that we need to review what kind of support they need. And I really believe we can take them to the next level of training.”

No arrests have been made yet on the gunmen who shot the wardens.