Domestic Violence Act: implementation, recent research and experience of service delivery: six monthly report

Meeting report

The Chairperson asked all present to observe a minute of silence for Bishop Jack Tolo, COPE MP, who had been murdered earlier that morning at his home in GaMasha village in the Sekhukhune area in Limpopo. On behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Police, she called upon SAPS to do all in its power to ensure the perpetrators were brought to book. She extended the heartfelt condolences of this Committee to his family. The Chairperson said that it had become a trend to learn each week about one or two SAPS members being killed. The Committee also extended its condolences to the families who had lost members due to these killings over time, but during the current week in particular.

Domestic Violence Act: Implementation, Recent Research and Experience of Service delivery
Ms Chikunga thanked the civil society organisations that were present, which, on their own initiative, showed interest in the work that Parliament was doing, and asked to be part of the meeting. Parliament welcomed their contribution as it saw itself as a people’s parliament.

She then focused on the Domestic Violence Act and the reasons why this meeting was called. She proceeded to quote the Act from Section 18(3) to (5):

“18 (3) The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service must issue national instructions as contemplated in section 25 of the South African Police Service Act, 1995 (Act No. 68 of 1995), with which its members must comply in the execution of their functions in terms of this Act, and any instructions so issued must be published in the Gazette.
(4) (a) Failure by a member of the South African Police Service to comply with an obligation imposed in terms of this Act or the national instructions referred to in subsection (3), constitutes misconduct as contemplated in the South African Police Service Act, 1995, and the Independent Complaints Directorate, established in terms of that Act, must forthwith be informed of any such failure reported to the South African
Police Service.
 (b) Unless the Independent Complaints Directorate directs otherwise in any specific case, the South African Police Service must institute disciplinary proceedings against any member who allegedly failed to comply with an obligation referred to in paragraph (a).
(5) (a) The National Director of Public Prosecutions must submit any prosecution policy and policy directives determined or issued in terms of subsection (2) to Parliament, and the first policy and directives so determined or issued, must be submitted to Parliament within six months of the commencement of this Act.
(b) The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service must submit any national instructions issued in terms of subsection (3) to Parliament, and the first instructions so issued, must be submitted to Parliament within six months of the commencement of this Act.
(c) The Independent Complaints Directorate must, every six months, submit a report to Parliament regarding the number and particulars of matters reported to it in terms of subsection (4)(a), and setting out the recommendations made in respect of such matters.
(d) The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service must, every six months, submit a report to Parliament regarding-the number and particulars of-complaints received against its members in respect of any failure contemplated in subsection (4)(a); the disciplinary proceedings instituted as a result thereof and the decisions which emanated from such proceedings; and steps taken as a result of recommendations made by the Independent Complaints Directorate.”

The reason why this meeting was called was for the Portfolio Committee to check whether the SAPS and the ICD complied with the DVA as it stood. The Portfolio Committee had paid oversight visits to police stations. It visited Mpumalanga, KZN, WC and Gauteng. So far it only found one station which fully complied with the DVA, including keeping an updated Domestic Violence register. This station was Nelspruit police station, and the reason why it was fully compliant with the act was because it made a designated person responsible for the Domestic Violence register. All Portfolio Committee members agreed that apart from the Nelspruit police station, police stations did not comply with the DVA as far as keeping an updated Domestic Violence register was concerned, despite the presence of the ICD. The meeting would clarify whether the SAPS on the ground kept an updated Domestic Violence register.

Independent Complaints Directorate presentation
Mr Francois Beukman, Executive Director, ICD, introduced the presenters.

Mr Moses Dlamini, Director: Information Management System, noted that it was a legal requirement for the ICD had to submit a report to Parliament on its activities every six months, and he stated that the ICD did that.

The ICD received the complaints of non-compliance by police with the DVA from the public and referred it to the police for investigation or disciplinary action. The police officers then had to apply for exemption and provide reasons why they did not comply with the DVA. It also conducted DVA audits, it processed applications for exemption, and it ran awareness campaigns and conducted workshops with SAPS members.

Over the period January 2009 to December 2010, a total of 236 complaints had been lodged with the DVA. The highest percentage 27% had been lodged in Gauteng and the WC followed with 22%.

55% of the complaints were laid because the police failed to arrest the abuser. In 25% of cases there had been a warrant of arrest issued, and the abuser still had not been arrested. In 10% of cases, the police failed to open a docket and refer the issue to the National Prosecuting Authority for decision to prosecute. In 5% of cases the police failed to seize fire arms and ammunition. In 8% of cases, the police failed to issue a notice against the alleged transgressor to appear in court.

Out of 236 complaints, the ICD received 49 applications for exemption, thus there was a shortfall of 187.

The presentation gave an overview of case disposal over the period January 2009 till December 2010. Many cases were closed as unsubstantiated. In many cases the ICD just had no response from the SAPS, which was problematic for the ICD. The ICD had raised the issue of the lack of response from the SAPS with the provincial commissioners as well as SAPS management at the management forums. It was a concern for the ICD.

Ms Noluthando Mbuli, Chief Director, Information Management & Reseach, outlined the points the ICD looked at when doing station audits for compliance with the DVA:

▪ Was a copy of Domestic Violence Act readily available in Community Service Centre (CSC)?
▪ Was there an updated list of service providers in CSC?
▪ Was there an updated list of service providers in each vehicle?
▪ Was a copy of National Instruction 7/1999 readily available in CSC?
▪ Was a Domestic Violence Registers, SAPS 508(b) in CSC?
▪ Were all reported DVA incidents recorded in the Domestic Violence Register 508(b)?
▪ Were SAPS forms 508(a) readily available in CSC and properly maintained?
▪ Were all responses to domestic violence incidents recorded on SAPS forms 508(a)?
▪ Were the SAPS 206 (Pocket Book) of members thoroughly maintained?
▪ Were monthly procedures of File 39/4/2/3 on DVA incidents maintained? (Returns)
▪ Were procedures of SAPS 10 (Occurrence Book) on DVA thoroughly maintained?
▪ Were all protection orders served (zero outstanding protection orders)?
▪ Were copies of every protection order received filed? (file 39/4/3/1)
▪ Were copies of every warrant of arrest received filed? (file 39/4/3/1)
▪ Were female members assigned on each shift?
▪ Was a victim friendly care centre readily available?
▪ Was a register maintained of all complaints against membersfor non-compliance to DVA?
▪ Were all non-compliance DVA records of members recorded on form SAPS 508?
▪ In cases of non-compliance by members, were disciplinary proceedings instituted?
▪ If no steps have been taken against members, did they apply for exemption?
▪ Were recommendations / steps taken / exemption from disciplinary procedures recorded?
▪ Were monthly returns in relation to disciplinary action adhered to by commanders?

She said that the objectives of these station audits were not to name and shame the police, but to encourage the police service to improve.

The ICD conducted 132 police station audits during July - December 2010, and found that:

25 stations were complying on a level of Non-Compliant (0-49%)
37 were complying on a level of Fairly Compliant (50-79%)
56 stations were on a level of Substantially Compliant (80-99%)
14 stations were Fully Compliant (100%) with the DVA prescripts

Between January 2009 and December 2010, the ICD conducted 635 awareness campaigns all over the country. Over the same period, it conducted 82 workshops.

The challenges faced by the ICD were:
▪ Some of SAPS management did not take disciplinary action against members
▪ Some of SAPS members did not apply for exemptions
▪ Lack of understanding of the DVA by SAPS members regarding record keeping
▪ Existence of a culture of silence around domestic violence
▪ Lengthy period taken to discipline SAPS members- it took longer than the prescribed six months.

South African Police Service presentation
Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, Deputy National Commissioner, Crime Detection, introduced his delegation.

Major General Tertius Geldenhuys, Legal Services, SAPS, said that there was uncertainty amongst the police themselves as well as amongst the public on the role of the police service in implementing the DVA.

Between January 2010 and December 2010 a total of 100 877 cases of domestic violence had been recorded across the country. The numbers for the first and second half of the year, mirrored each other. The next slide detailed how the complaints against the police in the 1st and 2nd half of 2010 were processed. 13 complaints were received during the 1st half and 23 during the 2nd half. Over the year, 11 complaints were found to be unfounded. Four complaints were referred for remedial counseling. Eight were referred for verbal warnings and ten for written warnings. The accused in the case of one complaint was dismissed. In eight cases other sanctions like fines, suspended sentence or suspended dismissal were imposed. 19 cases were still under investigation, 19 cases had received exemption and 12 were awaiting a decision.

During this period, the complaints against members decreased by 36%, possibly as a result of increased training interventions.

Major General Jan Kwena, Human Resource Development, SAPS presented on training in the police service to prepare staff to deal with Domestic Violence.

The training of police members was aimed at ensuring compliance with the Act, Regulations and National Instruction, and to develop the necessary skills to enable members to deal with incidents of domestic violence in a sensitive, professional and efficient manner.

A total number of 3 302 (2009/10) and 2 109 (2010/2011) new recruits underwent the Basic Training Programme (which included training on domestic violence).

A five-day domestic violence learning programme was presented. This included sensitising members to the social context and complex nature of domestic violence, practical skills in dealing with victims and victim support and skills in executing obligations in terms of the Act and National Instruction (such as rendering of assistance to the victim and the completion of forms and registers)

A total of 4118 members had received training on domestic violence during the financial year 2010/11.

Major-General Susan Pienaar, Head: Crime Prevention Division in the Visible Policing Division, said there were 900 victim friendly rooms nationwide with the largest numbers in the Western Cape, KZN and Gauteng.

Police had set a target of providing all police stations with victim friendly rooms by 2014. The Visible Policing and Supply Chain Management divisions were working together to provide 77 park home type victim facilities at stations in this financial year. All new police stations were built with victim friendly rooms

Lieutenant-General Vinesh Kumar Moonoo, Divisional Commissioner: Detective Services, said that 176 Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) units had been established and were operational in all nine provinces.

There were 1 896 members attached to these units as on 31 March 2011, excluding forensic social workers.

The forensic social work capacity would form part of FCS staff and would be responsible for the forensic assessment of children, compilation of court reports and testifying in court.

Of the 1 896 members attached to FCS units, 1 538 had undergone training on the Act (as at 31 July 2011)

In total, 250 members of FCS would be trained in this financial year.

12 048 arrests were executed by members of the FCS and 529 convictions for crimes perpetrated against child victims were recorded as well as 595 convictions for crimes perpetrated against adult victims. The FCS units were involved in several activities to support victims such as recruiting sponsors to upgrade victim friendly rooms.

Lieutenant-General Lesetja Mothiba, Divisional Commissioner: Visible Policing, conducted visits to stations, including visits for the purpose of assessing compliance with visible policing prescripts. The implementation of the Domestic Violence Act was included in the assessment template. During the 2010/11 financial year, 58 full compliance visits were conducted. Shortcomings found during visits were addressed with in-service training and corrective actions and feedback was given to station, cluster and provincial management.

Challenges to compliance with the DVA included:
▪ Training to ensure that members dealt with domestic violence incidents properly, gender sensitivity in order to properly deal with domestic violence incidents
▪ Community not yet fully aware and sensitized about the protection afforded by the Act
▪ Proper coordination between different state departments, NGOs and community initiatives was essential to properly deal with domestic violence incidents.
▪ Victims electing to withdraw charges for various reasons (such as due to economic dependency)
▪ Insufficient resources for immediate provision of Victim Friendly Facilities at all service points (police stations and FCS units).

Corporate Communication had developed a communication strategy which focused on raising of awareness of the protection afforded to victims of Domestic Violence. This included posters, printed material and promotional items, radio-talks, and izimbizo.

Tswaranang Legal Advocacy Centre submission
Ms Lisa Vetten, Director, said that Tswaranang sourced its information from the Medium Term Strategic Framework, or Annual Plan, Annual Reports, Performance Reports, PMG minutes, department presentations, replies to parliamentary questions, budget votes 2008/09-2010/11. Requests for further information were submitted in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000. The information was analysed in terms of four themes: compliance with legislative mandate, budget, training and access to justice. SAPS stated in various published documentation that violence against women had been a priority since 1996.

The data produced by the ICD showed a pattern that had been established since 2006, that compliance to the DVA was the exception rather than the rule. This was a legal requirement, and police officials were obliged by law to follow the prescripts of the DVA. It was a concern that the majority of police stations could not reach the 100% compliance rate.

Where this non-compliance became a significant was when somebody applied for a competency certificate to own a firearm. The officer concerned was obliged to look in the Domestic Violence register to see if an applicant had a protection order against him. If the Domestic Violence register had not been maintained, the information would not be available. In this manner, licences were handed to people who were by law not eligible for them. The police had to keep records of protection orders and warrants of arrest, otherwise there would be no record that a woman had filed a protection order.

Statistics showed that between 2001 and 2008, 1 121 complaints had been laid. There was disciplinary action in 5.1% of cases. In more than 2/3rds of cases there had been no response to the ICD. This indicated that the oversight function of the ICD did not work as it should. The police’s ability to disregard the ICD was strengthened by the removal of the regulation obliging the station commissioner to provide reasons for rejecting ICD recommendations.

Another concern was that only three six-monthly reports had been submitted to Parliament in 10 years (out of a possible 20). The contents of the reports submitted were not helpful. They did not contain the right information, or enough detail.

DVA training was inadequate, because there was no budget. The Auditor General Report of 2009 stated that the training had not been adequate.

The Justice Crime Prevention and Security Cluster had said to the police that it wanted to reduce crime by 4 to 7% annually. It was well intentioned, but it confused reporting to the police with a charge being laid. It also confused the incidence of a crime with its reporting rate. The incidences of the crimes were much higher than the cases being reported. The reporting rate for rape has gone down from one in nine in 2002 to one in 25 in 2010. To drive down the reporting rate of the crime would be the wrong police response, because the crime was already under-reported. The desired situation was where more women came forward to report the crime.

She directed the attention of the Committee to a few police stations where there had been dramatic decreases (up to 1000%) in the numbers of cases reported, for example Johannesburg Central. She felt that these warranted closer scrutiny. This meant that the numbers of reported and recorded cases bore no resemblance to the actual incidence of the crime on the ground.

Regarding the FCS units, in terms of the Sexual Offences Act, the police had to table their training program within six months of the Act being promulgated in 2007. The police did not table their training program. While there had been training, the police had not tabled their reports around the Sexual Offences Act. According to the Act, training reports had to be submitted on an annual basis.

Since 2007, 2 491 Community Service Centre officers had been trained. This low number was a matter of concern. CSC officers were the first point of contact for victims and if victims had a bad experience, they would not get to the specialized FCS officers. More CSC officers had to be trained.

Victim support rooms were not always accessible to victims when needed. Many victim support staff had no training. There were challenges to the functioning of FCS units. Staffing was a problem and children’s cases were prioritized. The numbers of women reporting rape cases were much higher than the numbers of children, but according to statistics from the Thuthuzela Care Centres, 60% of cases seen there were children, which raised the question: ‘Where did the women go for help?’ The FCS Units had to control its own budgets for transporting victims and sexual assault evidence kits. If not, its resources were spent on other needs at the station. The lack of experience and knowledge of staff were other challenges.

Recommendations were:
▪ The FCS unit could not be the sole solution to Domestic Violence. Its mandate was limited to investigate attempted murder and assault with intent to do grievious bodily harm (GBH) and perpetrated within an intra-familial context. They would only investigate breaching of a protection order if it was part of a GBH investigation. The CSCs were much more central to the police’s handling of cases of domestic violence and its capacities had to be boosted.
▪ The Portfolio Committee on Police enquire into the extent of SAPS budgeting towards the DVA and Sexual Offences Act. In their Annual Report, they reported receiving $1,2 million for training around the Sexual Offences Act. It raised the question whether the training would have happened if they did not get the donor money.
▪ Legislated commitments should form part of SAPS performance indicators.
▪ The Portfolio Committee invite a diversity of NGOs to comment on and engage with all these processes.

Limpopo Legal Advice Centre (LLAC) submission
Mr Mogale Nakedi, Director, said that the meeting was aware of the devastating effects of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse had on its victims. The LLAC was there to assist the victims to survive and overcome the devastation, as well as to learn from the experience and to use the knowledge for the greater good, so victims could realise that they could live a normal life after abuse.

South Africa was the rape capital of the world according to UN statistics, for the period 1998-2005. In 2005, one in three of 4000 women questioned in Johannesburg, had been raped. According to the same survey, South Africa had some of the highest incidences of child and baby rape in the world. The survey discovered that 60% of boys and girls interviewed did not think it was wrong to force people to have sex with a person, and 11% of boys and 4% of girls admitted to having forced someone to have sex with them. Of 1 500 children interviewed in Soweto, Johannesburg, 25% of boys thought that jack rolling (slang name for gang rape) was fun. More than 50% believed that when a girl said no to sex, she really meant yes.

As a community activist witnessing the growing incidence of sexual violence, domestic violence and child abuse as well as numerous cases of abuse remaining unresolved in the deep rural areas of Limpopo Province, where he was based, he had to take the opportunity, together with his civil society working group, to address the Parliamentary Committee on Police.

It has been said that the way in which a society treated its women was a measure of its level of civilisation. South Africa had failed this test. The levels of abuse of women and children were eating at the soul of South African society and compromised the health of the South African democracy.

An example of this was in Limpopo, when a woman went to the police station to lay a domestic violence charge; the police sent her back to the traditional authorities. In some cases both parties were fined by the traditional chief, in other words, the woman was victimised by the perpetrator, the police as well as the traditional chief. In other cases they were referred back to the police station.

Some police personnel in rural police stations did not know what domestic violence was. This was why arrests and convictions were low. The science and accessibility of DNA analysis was a welcome development towards exposing rape.

The police, forensic experts and prosecution had to treat the body of the victim as a crime scene. The woman’s evidence was the prosecution’s main weapon in ensuring a conviction; however, the hostility with which women were often treated made it hard for them to relate intimate, embarrassing details about the rape to disbelieving strangers. Court support helped the rape survivor to hold her fragile story together.

South Africa’s criminal justice system was flawed and stressed, but if perpetrators were effectively prosecuted and jailed, it would act as deterrent. The absence of a functional criminal justice system made room for vigilantism and mob justice, which the civil society organisations did not support, because it believed in the rule of law.

The LLAC believed that the solutions lie in an education campaign to train rural communities, rural police as well as traditional chiefs, adequate staffing and logistics.

Gender, Health and Justice Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town
Prof Lillian Artz, Director, presented the integrated findings from three empirical studies:

Some of the findings were that victims had known the abusive partner for an average of 13 years, had experienced abuse for 4 years before approaching the courts or police, and one out of ten woman experience domestic violence for 10 to 20 years of her life.

Of the one out of ten woman who had experienced domestic violence: 85% of women reported verbal abuse, 83% psychological, 40% had been threatened with death, 69% had experienced physical abuse which included beatings, choking, kicking, punching, and being stabbed. 38% suffered economic abuse, 15% suffered abuse during pregnancy and 30% suffered sexual abuse. 50% of the sexual abuse cases involved rape.

A police member who attended a scene of domestic violence was supposed to determine whether the complainant was in any danger and take all reasonable steps to secure the scene and to protect the complainant from danger. The police member then had to render such assistance to the complainant as may reasonably be required in the circumstances. The police member had to hand the Notice to the complainant, and explain the contents of the notice, assist the complainant or make arrangements for the complainant to find a suitable shelter and to obtain medical treatment, and investigate the alleged incident of domestic violence and gather all evidence in respect of any offence which may have been committed during such an incident.

76% of women interviewed went to the police after a domestic violence incident and 87% went after the last incident. 90% said that they were told by the police to get a Protection Order. The police accompanied 68% to collect their belongings.

It was problematic that 69% were not told by the police that they could lay a criminal charge; 53% were not allowed to lay a criminal charge; 96% were not given a notice with information on rights; 98% did not get a copy of the interim warrant of arrest; 67% were not taken for medical assistance.

This study was done with the police and they were very receptive: 1457 dockets were analysed. 18% were breaches of the protection order (PO). A copy of the PO was present in 75% of the dockets, which was positive. Arrests were made in 80% of the cases and additional charges were laid in 30% of the breach of PO dockets.

 In cases not involving the breach of a PO, a PO was only present in 2.4% of the dockets. Arrests were made in 52% of these cases, which was a low arrest rate. In only 16% of dockets, there was information about the history of the abuse. Only 50% of cases had information about the use of a weapon. 50% of cases did not receive medical attention. 20% involved a firearm. In 5% of these cases the weapon was seized.

A hotly debated issue was the removal of firearms from police who committed acts of violence.

Reasons for women to withdraw from the system were death threats, and other threats of violence to the victim, her house her family.

Prof Artz recommended that the state system started to think about how to manage families in this situation, not the adult victim of violence or rape, but the whole family, because often there were children involved. The same applied where a child had been violated in the domestic context. There had to be discussions on how the different pieces of legislation applied to these situations. This could provide better, more comprehensive services to people in need.

Women were accused of abusing the system, but there was nothing illegal about using it as they saw fit. She said that the condition of trauma rooms was appalling and some were set up inappropriately. It had to be set up professionally.

Discussion
Ms D Kohler-Barnard (DA) said that the Portfolio Committee had watched for years how SAPS had treated the ICD with contempt. Where the ICD referred to disciplinary action for 236 complaints against the police, how many station heads had been disciplined? Currently individuals were targeted at stations, but the buck stopped with the station head.

Ms Kohler-Barnard referred to page four of the SAPS presentation. The total number of complaints nationally in January- December 2010 was reported as 36. It bore no relation to the 113 cases detailed by the ICD for the same period. She did not understand and wanted an explanation.

The Chairperson did not understand the figures for the applications for exemption.

The Chairperson referred to SAPS figures for Domestic Violence. She would not believe in 100 years that those figures were correct, because of the patterns the figures displayed. The figures mirrored each other in the first and the second halves of the year. Domestic violence increased over Christmas and Easter periods etc. The figures did not reflect that. She did not believe the figures.

The Chairperson said that the figures given differed from those that the ICD had reported. The ICD reported that 24 stations had not been complying at all with the DVA in other words 100% non-compliance.

Mr Dlamini replied on the difference between ICD figures and SAPS figure, saying he understood the law to mean that the SAPS report had to be in response to the ICD report.

Ms Kohler-Barnard said to the SAPS about the establishment of the FCS units, it had to be the re-establishment of the FCS units because they had existed and Jackie Selebi shut them down when he was Police Commissioner. She wanted to know how many there were before and how many there were now. Was the expertise which existed scooped back into the units? How could there be 12 000 arrests and only 1 000 convictions. She wanted an explanation.

Mr Moonoo agreed that it had to be the re-establishment of the FCS units. There were 43 units. Prior to its disbandment, there were 1096 members working in those units. Currently there were 1896, almost double. Members previously lost due to the restructuring process were identified and redeployed to those units where they were still suitable. The rest had to be recruited from within the ranks and there were lots of young members.

Ms M Molebatsi (ANC) referred to FCS training. Mr Geldenhuys said that of the 1 896, ±1 500 had undergone training. Ms Mbuli reported on the lack of understanding of SAPS members of the DVA. She asked what was wrong.

Mr Moonoo replied regarding the 250 FCS members scheduled for training. This was a small number of members compared to the need. Of the 1 896, 1 536 had been trained. The 250 would be trained within this financial year. 108 would still be outstanding whom he hoped would be trained within the next financial year.

Ms van Wyk had a problem with the word ‘hope’ in the answer of the Mr Moonoo. She said that police management were supposed to have planned and budgeted for the training. How many were planned to be trained within this financial year?

Mr Moonoo replied that 250 members would definitely undergo training within the current financial year. The rest would undergo training in the next financial year. People came and went and there was always a need for training.

Ms van Wyk commented on the DVA training opportunities. She wanted the Committee Secretary to check whether previous SAPS reports to the Committee stated that all officers had received training on the DVA. She wanted to challenge the SAPS on these figures. She agreed with the research institutions. It was not about training, but what the officers were trained on.

Mr Geldenhuys replied that training had been developed by the Training Division and was implemented. Since 2001, all police recruits had received training on the DVA during Basic Training.

Mr Ndlovu asked that Mr Geldenhuys reply to the question in writing.

Ms Kohler-Barnard agreed with Ms Vetten that, when the police did not keep the domestic violence register updated, there were dire implications. Men with a history of domestic violence were given firearm licences. Where were these records detailed?

Mr Lekgetho said that the Domestic Violence register had to be updated regularly in order to avoid giving firearm licences to known abusers. The Domestic Violence register had to be linked to the firearm licence register.

Ms Molebatsi asked Mr Mothiba about the full compliance visits he made to police stations. Did he put in place corrective actions? Did he make follow-ups?

Mr M Swathe (DA) referred to the ICD presentation, where it said that 30% of non-compliance cases dealt with the perpetrator not being arrested. Was it not more? Why was this happening?

Ms A van Wyk (ANC) said that this legislation had been passed long ago and it was demotivating to see that the system was still struggling to implement it. A month or two ago the Department of Police, the ICD and the National Prosecuting Authority met with the Portfolio Committee on Justice on the DVA and the Child Justice Act. It was a negative meeting in terms of the acceptance of the work that had been done. Despite that experience, the same scenario repeated itself in this meeting. The ICD reported on two years, the SAPS reported on one year. The reports differed completely. Who could the Portfolio Committee believe? Where would the Portfolio Committee start? This also was a repeat performance.

The SAPS and ICD had a joint responsibility. The parties had to get together and sort their figures out before coming to Parliament. The SAPS and ICD were dismissive towards Parliament, but they now had the issues pointed out by civil society. She wanted to know why the figures of SAPS and ICD differed.

She told Mr Geldenhuys that this issue had been raised before and it was a legal requirement that SAPS and the ICD had to report to Parliament. This requirement was put there by the Department of Justice. 15 years later, the SAPS and ICD still did not take it seriously.

The stations that the ICD found to be 100% compliant could be used as models of best practice, if they were 100% compliant. The Portfolio Committee would also compare these with its own findings.

The previous weekend, the Sunday Times had carried a story about a lady who laid a charge of sexual offence with SAPS. She told the police that her partner abused her and he had a firearm. SAPS did not respond and she was assaulted. She managed to get hold of his gun and shot him in self defence. Now, four years later she faced an inquest. Ms van Wyk stated that if she was in the shoes of the lady in question, she would sue the SAPS.

Ms van Wyk said that SAPS looked at the DVA, Child Justice Act and the Sexual Offences Act as burdens. The Sexual Offences Act was a tool to establish whether somebody had a violent nature, and could be trusted with a firearm. There were no excuses anymore. The Portfolio Committee had asked SAPS and the ICD in the past for recommendations on how the implementation of these laws could be improved, but none were forthcoming.

Ms van Wyk said that the Portfolio Committee had applied its mind during legislating for the new Independent Police Investigative Directorate. It put the DVA responsibilities with the Secretariat and not with the ICD. Part of the reason was the Secretariat had to make policy adjustments and recommendations. She wanted to know how the Secretariat intended to deal with the responsibility.

Ms van Wyk said that in the ICD presentation, there were many instances where the ICD was waiting for reaction from SAPS, sometimes for two years. She asked the ICD what was done if SAPS did not comply. She asked SAPS why it took two years to respond to complaints. If SAPS did not comply with the DVA, why would an ordinary citizen be law-abiding?

Mr G Lekgetho (ANC) said that the ICD report stated that it had visited 380 police stations. The ICD visited 177 in 2010. To him numbers were not enough. Not all of them complied. The Portfolio Committee had visited different provinces in the country. The Committee could not determine whether the ICD had visited any particular station. He asked for a list of all the stations that the ICD visited. He wanted an identifiable signature.

Mr Lekgetho asked which police stations in Limpopo referred victims of abuse to traditional authorities.

Mr L Ramatlakane (COPE) asked what it meant when people were referred to the traditional authorities. Did the traditional authority convene a court and fine both the victim and the perpetrator?

Mr Swathe said that the Limpopo Legal Advice Centre had noted that people who reported domestic violence and sexual violence cases to rural police stations, were referred to traditional authorities. He wanted to know which stations referred people to the traditional authorities.

Mr Ramatlakane referred to the SAPS presentation where it referred to the slowness of the conviction process. Was there an integrated process between police and prosecutors in dealing with this problem? Why did this problem exist?

Mr Ramatlakane said that the report stated that 799 victim support centres had been established so far, and that by 2014 every police station would have one. Domestic violence cases were sensitive matters and had to be managed in a sensitive manner. What space was used for counselling in the absence of dedicated victim support centres? Why would police stations only be fully equipped by 2014? This was probably why so many cases were withdrawn.

The Chairperson said that SAPS was telling the Portfolio Committee about the training given and the effect thereof. It ascribed a decrease in cases to the training. Part of the management of the training process, meant SAPS had to have a tool to evaluate the outcome of the training. Where were the evaluation reports?

Mr Mothiba said that economic dependency was not the only reason why charges were dropped. Families of victims and perpetrators also came together to resolve conflicts. It tallied with what was brought to the Committee’s attention by the Limpopo Advice centre. Communication was important. The public had to be educated about their rights and it would do much to alleviate victimisation of women especially.

Mr Swathe said that the presentation said victims withdrew charges as a result of economic dependency on the accused, but perhaps they withdrew the charges because they were not treated well at the police station.

Mr Ramatlakane asked why the police resisted the assistance of the NGO sector. He saw NGOs as playing a complementary role to the police in rendering services to victims of abuse.

Mr Ramatlakane did not hear what could be done from the side of the NGO sector, to build the partnership. What could the NGO sector do to make the counselling environment more conducive?

Prof Artz replied that partnerships with SAPS could happen on three levels. Firstly, the civil society and academic sector could support the work of the police through research. Secondly, the civil and academic sector could train sections of the police on the social aspect as well as the legal aspect of the work. Thirdly, the academic sector could be part of the debate on family violence and how it was going to be managed on a policing level.

Mr Ramatlakane said that the trauma sections of hospitals and day hospitals over weekends, dealt with the victims of Domestic Violence. Was there not any proactive plan that could be put in place so that SAPS could proactively make its services available to these victims at these points?

Mr Ramatlakane said he knew that domestic violence was a difficult and complex issue, but he was worried about the firearm licence issue. Poor record-keeping could have dire consequences in this case.

Mr Ramatlakane was worried about the 5000/190 000 training level. The level of competency was too low. The CSC dealt with this question. New recruits were part of the model. The problem was not new recruits, but the functional police. The 250 members that were still going to undergo training in the current financial year was a drop in the ocean.

The Chairperson thanked the members for the questions. She wanted to know what the composition of the sample was which was used in the research by the University of Cape Town.

Prof Artz (UCT) replied that the first project involved people in urban as well as rural and agricultural areas. They worked in areas where the police and the courts systems were not working well. The research sample was confined to the Western Cape. The second study was done in the Eastern Cape.

The Chairperson asked SAPS how many six-monthly reports it had submitted since the Act was passed. The Portfolio Committee could not trace them in Parliament.

Ms van Wyk asked where the ICD report was for the first six months of 2011, as it was already August.

Mr Francois Beukman, ICD Executive Director, replied that 21 reports had been submitted. The report on the last six months had almost been finalised. The last published report was in the handout from page 24 onwards.

Mr Geldenhuys said that initially the six-monthly reports had been a problem, but since 2006, SAPS had submitted a report every six months.

The Chairperson asked whether the reports submitted had been tabled in Parliament.

Mr Geldenhuys said that he had sent the reports to the Minister’s office and had no control over what happened to it after it reached the Minister’s office.

The Chairperson asked if SAPS could explain how, two years after a case had been reported, nothing had happened?

Mr Moses Dlamini, ICD National Spokesman, said that failure to comply constituted misconduct. The ICD had to be informed regarding failure, unless it directed otherwise. If there was a complaint about non-compliance, the police had to issue a disciplinary procedure, unless there were reasons not to. If there was a complaint that the police failed to comply, the ICD referred the matter to the police. The police could apply for exemption.

The Chairperson asked for an explanation.

Mr Dlamini said that the ICD recorded 236 complaints of non-compliance against the police. There was a shortfall of 187 applications for exemption, where members did not have a disciplinary hearing either. The ICD only received 49 applications for exemption.

Many matters were referred to SAPS for disciplinary action or application for exemption. The report indicated that it was waiting for a reply from SAPS.

Mr Dlamini said that when the ICD went on a station audit, the relevant managers would be aware that the ICD was conducting an audit and the areas of non-compliance would be identified. It produced a report that would state compliance or non-compliance.

The Chairperson said that in KZN there had been no applications for exemption. 13 complaints had been filed against SAPS. There had been no applications for exemption or disciplinary hearings.

Mr Dlamini commented on what the ICD did where police did not respond. Monthly meetings were held where the ICD provincial heads met with police management. The issues had to be raised there. The police were supposed to submit monthly returns to the ICD. The concerns and cases of non-response were also raised with the provincial commissioner.

The Chairperson commented on the speaker from the ICD who said that the purpose of the visit to Parliament was not to name and shame the police, but to encourage them to improve. The Chairperson said that the function of the ICD was to make sure that the police complied with the DVA. The ICD was too soft and too apologetic. The SAPS did not take the ICD seriously.

Mr Dlamini said he accepted the Chairperson’s concern that the ICD was too soft on SAPS. However, the ICD made clear in the report what its findings and recommendations were.

Lieutenant-General Mothiba, SAPS Visible Policing, responded to the statement that SAPS treated the ICD with contempt. He said that it was not the truth. At a national level he was not aware of any cases where the section head, the Brigadier, was accused of contempt.

The Chairperson stopped him and informed him that in the light of SAPS being a national competence, the statement referred to all levels of the police, from management to station level. The national office remained accountable for all levels of police conduct. According to the Act, the National Commissioner was accountable.

Mr V Ndlovu (IFP) asked that Deputy National Commissioner, Mr Lebeya, to caution his delegation members about the manner in which they responded, or that he direct another member of the delegation to answer the question, as Mr Mothiba did not respond to the question appropriately.

Mr Mothiba continued and responded to the question about record keeping at station level, that it would be investigated.

The Chairperson asked if Johannesburg and Pretoria Central Police stations had been visited by senior management to check for DVA compliance. She was more concerned when Headquarters said they had visited, than she would have been if it said it had not visited, because of the state of disarray the Committee found when it visited those stations. She wondered why there was a national management in SAPS.

Mr Mothiba said that Pretoria Central was visited within the first six months of this financial year.

The Chairperson said she would have been happier if HQ said that it had not visited. The knowledge that HQ had visited, and the Portfolio Committee had found Pretoria Central in the state it was when the Portfolio Committee paid an oversight visit, was disconcerting. SAPS managers were not doing their job.

Mr Moonoo replied that 1 000 out of 12 000 people were convicted. Many cases had been withdrawn and many were still pending. Sometimes the witnesses were not available anymore. In some cases the accused was deceased. Detailed information was available.

Mr Tertius Geldenhuys, SAPS, said that he would verify and report back on the number of people disciplined in terms of the DVA since the Act was promulgated. Whether any station commander had been disciplined? He would report back in writing.

Ms van Wyk said that it was unacceptable that these figures were not available. SAPS management was in Parliament to report back on that issue.

Mr Geldenhuys replied that two SAPS members had had disciplinary hearings and had been sent for remedial counselling. Eight members had been given verbal warnings, 10 had been given written warnings and one was dismissed. Other sanctions included fines, suspended dismissals, eight members for the period of 2010. SAPS management had identified lots of shortcomings in terms of its own information gathering and reporting.

The Chairperson asked Mr Geldenhuys when management identified these shortcomings, what measures had been taken to rectify them and when would they be rectified. SAPS senior management had appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Women, Children and People with Disabilities as well as the Portfolio Committee on Justice and they all found the information supplied by SAPS to be wanting. What was SAPS going to do differently?

Mr Geldenhuys said that SAPS was in the process of putting in place a management system to manage implementation of the DVA. The role players had already been identified. Specific instructions were being issued to the roleplayers. He committed to submitting a written reply to the questions of the Committee.

Mr Ndlovu asked the Chairperson not to accept the response of Mr Geldenhuys and to allow him to reply in writing.

The Chairperson said that she had identified serious challenges that made implementation difficult. Most police stations were non-compliant. She wanted a strategy from SAPS to make sure that legislation was implemented. Part of evaluating the effectiveness of teaching was to assess implementation.

Initially this meeting was only going to be with SAPS and the ICD, but civil society organisations had also offered to participate. Huge budgets went into fighting crime.

Police stations that were visited were in a “gemors”. The Portfolio Committee had to get the reports that had been compiled. It had to get all the recommendations that had been made by the other parliamentary committees as well. The Portfolio Committee’s report would include the submissions made by the civil society organisations. Management at senior level had to be dismissed. Perhaps then changes would be seen. Firearm licences were lying around in police stations for more than five years. Where were the managers of SAPS?

Ms Kohler-Barnard said that the Portfolio Committee wanted reports on the ICD cases that were awaiting response from the SAPS.

The Chairperson asked which figures were correct. If the ICD was correct, from where did SAPS get its figures?

General Lebeya noted the concerns and the shortcomings regarding performance and implementation. More needed to be done on various fronts. At the management forums with the provincial commissioners, a proper strategy had to be developed. SAPS also had to improve the interaction with the ICD at a national level. It would be a priority at the management forum meeting.

The Chairperson said that the Portfolio Committee gave the ICD and the SAPS until 12 September 2011 to respond to the questions. People who did not perform had to deal with the consequences, starting from the level of the HQ down. She thanked the parties for the presentation. She was not happy with the state of things as they were. She hoped the strategy would give the specifics on the plan to improve things. She still had a list of questions that she had not managed to ask during this meeting.

She especially thanked the civil society organisations present. She said their submissions were enriching.

The meeting was adjourned.