The South African Policing Union (SAPU) would like to commend and salute thousands of law abiding citizens who joined the police against the rampant acts that we have seen in the country in the past 48 hours. SAPU commend all patriotic citizens who have shown through their actions that even though they had the choice of participating in the criminal acts such as looting and vandalism that are engulfing the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Courageous acts of law–abiding citizens vindicate SAPU’s long held motto that states: “TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE”. Unfortunately, it is impossible for police officers to succeed in bringing an end to riots in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng without the assistance of the community. SAPU once again wants to acknowledge the constitutional rights of all South African citizens to peacefully protest as per legal requirements; as there is no political objective to justify what is currently happening. SAPU is saluting the leadership in provinces who have stood firm in not allowing violence and looting in their provinces. We are urging citizens to not take the law into their own hands as vigilantism is also illegal. SAPU is calling for the urgent revival of local policing forum structures in order for them to work with the police. The resurgence of Community Police Forum structures (CPFs) can be very successful if community leaders, business leaders, traditional leaders, the civil society and other non-governmental organisations all work together. The harsh reality of the past 48-hours is that many people will be left jobless, and that many others have suffer massive losses which will be either impossible or extremely difficult to recover from, further negatively influence an already unstable and fragile economy. SAPU welcomes the announcement of the deployment of the army by the State President with reservations, and acknowledge that police officers are outnumbered. If community members were willing to obey and work together with the SAPS, there would have been no need for the deployment of the army; however, this is only a short-term solution and not sustainable. SAPU is calling on the SAPS management to act with speed in implementing the recommendations by the multinational panel of experts that was established by SAPS as a result of the Farlam Commission of Enquiry, to assist in implementing its recommendations, as the union unfortunately has not seen much happening on the ground. SAPU further calls on all political parties to set aside any differences that they might have and unite to resolve violence that has rarely been seen in the history of the country’s democracy, as crime has no political affiliation and no colour. The union also wants to remind people to be very careful before sending and forwarding videos and other information found on social media, as some of these videos and information are old/false and can escalate to fuel further unrests. Therefore, be vigilant, and careful to not destroy yourself by joining in on the disinformation on social media. The SAPS is still in the back foot in terms of public order policing and crowd management, therefore SAPU commends its members who stood firm and maintained maximum discipline while being provoked. SAPU is encouraged by the fact that no one is blaming SAPS as the police is often made a scapegoat whenever there are violent protests. If we work together as social partners in this country, crime and many other issues such as poverty and joblessness can be eradicated in South Africa, but first, South Africans will need to stand together to work towards one goal, and that is to stand firm against all criminal acts.