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Abstract
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OBJECTIVES: Sections of contemporary South African
society are characterised by high levels of crime and interpersonal conflict.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) is in the front line, with many deaths
and injuries occuring among serving officers in recent years. The circumstances
and nature of the injuries sustained by these officers have received little
attention in the medical literature. DESIGN: A retrospective review of all
injured SAPS members was undertaken at a single level one trauma centre in
Johannesburg between June 1993 and June 2002. The following factors were
recorded: demographics, mechanism and anatomical site of injury, mode of
transportation to hospital, whether personal protection had been used,
mortality, and return to work. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-four SAPS
personnel were admitted over a 9-year period. The majority (95%) were male and
the median age was 31 years. One hundred and thirty-two were on duty and two
were in transit to a place of duty when injured. Ninety-two (69%) were injured
by gunshot, (including 3 attempted suicides and 9 injuries due to negligent
discharge), 2 members were stabbed, 31 were involved in motor vehicle accidents,
2 in motorbike accidents, 1 member was struck by a car while directing traffic,
3 officers were injured by falls from a height, 2 members were injured in
helicopter crashes, and 1 member required treatment for gas inhalation.
Documentation on whether some form of personal protection was worn at the time
of injury was only available for 43 of the 92 cases of gunshot wounds (47%); of
these, only 15 (35%) were wearing a bulletproof vest. Use or non-use of a seat
belt was documented by hospital staff for only 6 of the 31 officers (19%)
injured in motor vehicle accidents. None of the 6 officers had been restrained
by a seatbelt. Nineteen SAPS personnel (14%) died of their injuries, but the
majority of surviving members returned to duty. CONCLUSION: There is an
unacceptably high level of violence in South African society today and SAPS
members regularly have to deal with dangerous or violent situations. There is a
clear need to introduce a reporting system within the SAPS to record the use of
personal protection by officers. Education needs to target SAPS members in order
to enhance their use of personal protection. There is a further need to design
and implement personal protection that will be universally acceptable by SAPS
members. |