SAPS 2015/16 Budget & APP Hearings: Programme 2: Visible Policing

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Police

17 April 2015
Chairperson: Mr F Beukman (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The SAPS made a presentation of its budget expenditure, administration and visible policing. The SAPS baseline allocation was R86, 3 billion growing 6% from the previous financial year. The spending focus over the medium term would be on a provision to maintain personnel capacity, professionalising the police service through skills development, continued strengthening of the criminal justice system and investing in physical resource and capital infrastructure. R517 million was reduced by Treasury and these reductions were effected in from goods and services.

Members asked SAPS how the reduction in budget would affect programs such as public order policing and why SAPS did not ring-fence a budget for Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) despite court rulings. Treasury did not have veto power on legislation passed by Parliament and signed by the President and going forward, DPCI must be made a separate program. The SAPS was urged to buy terrain responsive vehicles.

The administration program regulates the overall management of SAPS and provides centralised support services. It comprises of subprograms such as ministry, management, corporate service and office accommodation. Notable targets achieved under this program were 92% of learners declared competent on K53 driving, 100% bursaries disbursed, 336 interns placed, 5,75% unscheduled absence, 379 police stations demographically analysed among others.

Members praised SAPS on a clear presentation and on the introduction of dot peen marking of guns. They asked several questions around developing capacity, including how many officers had undergone K53 driving, what learnerships were offered by SAPS, and what kind of internships were offered by SAPS. Queries were raised around the targets, as devolved targets were omitted and many targets were shy of 100% welcomed dot peen marking of guns. Members were concerned that not enough staff had competency in fire arms.

The visible policing programme consisted of crime prevention, border security and specialised interventions. Notable achievements included recovery of 86% lost civilian firearms and 24% state firearms, recovery of 50% of stolen vehicles, confiscation of 283.8 million illicit drugs, 100% police stations offering victim friendly units and 100% operating community police forums.

Members were concerned about the 24% recovery rate of stolen state firearms which seemed to portray a message that the police were prioritising civilian firearms compared to state firearms. The police was urged to do something with nyaope which was tearing communities apart. 

Meeting report

SAPS Overview of expenditure estimates

Lieutenant-General Stefan Schutte, Deputy National Commissioner, SAPS, said that baseline allocations was R86,3 billion growing with 6% from previous financial year. Spending focus over the medium term will be on provision to maintain personnel capacity, professionalising the police service through skills development, continued strengthening of the criminal justice system and investing in physical resource and capital infrastructure. These activities supported the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster objective of creating safer communities and contributed towards ensuring that people in South Africa were and felt safe (outcome 3). R517 million was reduced by Treasury and these reductions was effected in goods and services.

The spending focus would include implementation of an integrated criminal justice system (CJS) to ensure a single, coordinated management of criminal justice and performance, focusing on funding for Forensic Services and the broader Detective Service in SAPS to enhance crime investigations. This would include selected Visible Policing aspects and Community Mobilisation initiatives. It would also include provision for equipment and training for detectives to enhance the process of investigation of crime; maintaining a capacity that allows for interventions through external deployment; and the establishment of victim-friendly facilities.

There would be further spending on investment in capital equipment to support basic policing services such as vehicles; maintaining and replenishing the fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter fleet, including the procurement of requisite physical resources and the replacement of exiting personnel; policing of major events; purchasing critical equipment such as firearms, ammunition and clothing; Community Outreach Programmes; Izimbizo and community-based recruitment programmes; conducting high risk operations; and policing community protests

Discussion

The Chairperson asked who proposed the reduction in goods and services.

Lt General Schutte replied that it was initiated and agreed by both Treasury and SAPS.

General Riah Phiyega, National Police Commissioner, SAPS, added that demands and needs surpassed service delivery. The issue was how it got approval on the delivery targets and in year three things would start getting back to normal.

Ms D Kohler-Banard (DA) said it was concerning that the compensation of employees increased, that the money was taken from goods and services and that this was approved by Cabinet.

Lt General Schutte replied that salary negotiations as they happen in the Public Service Bargaining Council could approve above a percentage of 6.4% of the 5.8% estimated and SAPS had to find money from its budget to compensate employees. While there were budget cuts, salaries had a fixed increase.

The Chairperson said the Committee had lobbied to have SAPS given R3.3 billion for public order policing. However, Treasury only approved R1.8 billion. He asked if the R1.8 billion was enough to deal with public order and unanticipated public disorders with the police responding with the right equipment on time.

Lt Gen Schutte replied that SAPS asked for additional money from Treasury but the government was in a challenging economic environment which Members were all aware of. It had a baseline R50 million for immediate deployment and started with the upgrading issue, starting with water cannons as well as personnel. The Accounting Officer was not allowed to shift money from one program to the other unless approved by Parliament in terms of the Appropriation Bill.

Gen Phiyega added that no new money was made available by Treasury for public order policing. It had ring-fenced a certain amount so that provinces did not have to go through an elongated process to have money on public order. SAPS had started buying vehicles and equipment for public order as well as migrating staff for public order policing. Units on public order that had been closed were being re-established. The JCPS cluster had discussed how they could engage on public order but the partners complained that they were seriously constrained.

Ms Kohler-Banard said SAPS had been experiencing under-expenditure in some instances, as had been the case the previous year. It then breached the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) by removing R150 million from fixed structures to go towards compensation of employees. This problem should not happen in again. What were the aims and strategy of SAPS in upgrading police stations? The Minister once said all stations had everything they needed including generators, which was not true.

Lt Gen Schutte replied that the basic services program for police stations ensured that they all had sewage, electricity and water. Every police station had electricity from Eskom, solar power or a generator. Most police stations were powered by Eskom which meant that load shedding was being experienced. 278 police stations had generators.

Mr Z Mbele (DA) asked how the budget spoke to the strengthening of accountability in SAPS where officers placed on disciplinary hearing were dragged on and there was a lot of time from lodging a complaint to the sitting of a disciplinary committee.

Mr J Maake (ANC) asked what it meant if 78% of the budget went to compensation and 51% went to visible policing. He asked if the 5.3% increase from last year’s budget could be considered an increase or just inflationary.

Lt Gen Schutte replied that the 5.3% was an increase from the previous year though inflationary. It foresaw a mismatch between salaries and budget but it worked with guidelines on public services.

Mr L Ramatlakane (ANC) asked the percentage of specialised policing within the 51% of visible policing. Was there fat in the budget should salary negotiations come against the R57 billion compensation budget? He asked when terrains and vehicles mismatch was going to be addressed especially in rhino activities.

Lt Gen Schutte replied that National Treasury contract number RT57 gave a list of car manufacturers and this limited SAPS on whether to buy a 4X4 or a sedan. The debate on this always took place on the National Management Forum and the argument had always been to buy a vehicle that fit the terrain.

Ms M Molebatsi (ANC) asked if barracks were included in the housing allowance.

Lt Gen Schutte replied that rentals were included for people living in barracks.

Ms Kohler-Banard said three years ago, 180 police stations did not have the basic three (sewage, electricity and water). She knew of satellite police stations where officers walked to Spar to use the toilet. She also knew of a police station where 160 officers used one toilet. Where pit latrines also considered toilets or toilets were only flush toilets?

Gen Phiyega said a response would be provided in writing on where new police stations were being built and which partners were helping. A finance committee had been established for discussing comments that came from oversight committees like this one and others as well.

Mr Ramatlakane asked if SAPS was going to correct the buying of vehicles that suited the terrain.

Lt Gen Schutte replied that SAPS intended to correct the problem of vehicles suiting the terrain as having a Citi Golf for the Northern Cape was not right.

Gen Phiyega said purchasing terrain responsive vehicles required balancing Treasury demands and the type of ground to be covered. Internally, it was clear that 4X4s were better and distribution in provinces was also based on the terrain.

Mr Ramatlakane said that the pie chart on budget distribution should have had specialised services and Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) budget ring-fenced and whatever it agreed with Treasury, it should be informed by the Act.

Lt Gen Schutte responded that DPCI was part of detective services and information on DPCI was available towards the end of the presentation on slide 87 on the detectives program.

Gen Phiyega said a revised pie chart would be submitted showing where DPCI was.  

The Chairperson said there was need for leadership stability in the policing environment especially from the top 200 generals in dealing with the image in the public media. Incidences such as the Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner appearing before the Court hampered the public image of SAPS. The Committee needed assurance that leadership would be effective, successful and responsive.

Program 1: Administration

Lieutenant General Nobubele Mbekela, Deputy National Commissioner (DNC): Corporate Service Management, SAPS, said that the administration program regulated the overall management of SAPS and provided centralised support services. It comprised of subprograms such as ministry, management, corporate service and office accommodation.

Notable targets achieved under this program were 92% of learners declared competent on K53 driving, 100% bursaries disbursed, 336 interns placed, 5,75% unscheduled absence, 379 police stations demographically analysed among others.

Under the strategic priority establishing an adequate Human Resource capability 90% of service terminations finalised within 60 working days; 100% of vacant posts were filled within three months; 95% of learners were declared competent upon completion of their training in terms of the Training Provisioning Plan (TPP); 85% of learners were declared competent after completing artisanship training.

When it came to investing in Human Capital Development, 100% of bursaries were disbursed for policing and scarce skills-related qualifications and 306 interns were placed.

Under the strategic priority to establish an effective Discipline and Integrity Management Capability, 80% of cases were finalised within 90 days and 90% of reported incidences of corruption were investigated.

With regard to improving the health and wellness profile of the organisation, 80% of employees were reached during proactive Employee Health and Wellness (EHW) programmes. With regard to a properly regulated and effective organisational design and development capability, all structures had been approved against the Organisational Design and Development Plan. With regard to the improvement of requisite resources to sustain quality service delivery on strategic priorities, 100% of firearms and bullet-resistant vests were distributed and 100% of official SAPS firearms were dot peen marked.

In terms of infrastructure development and public access to policing services, 100% of planned police facility projects were completed as per the SAPS Infrastructure Development Plan (Capital works, leases and maintenance), with a 20% variation from approved infrastructure project budget.

New performance indicators had been set for the strategic priority of enhancing Information Systems and Information and Communication Technology (IS/ICT) to support the business objectives of SAPS.

Under compliance and assurance provisioning, there were 100% of legally- vetted contracts and agreements in relation to the number of requests received and 790 inspections were conducted.

The expenditure estimates for the Administration programme were: R28, 9 million for the ministry sub-programme; R58, 2 million for the management sub-programme; R15 117, 2 million for corporate services; and R99, 8 million for civilian secretariat. This came to a total of R15 304 million.

Discussion

Ms Molebatsi asked how many officers had undergone K53 driving and what learnerships were offered by SAPS. How were the 379 police stations targeted for demographic analysis selected? She requested clarity on the number of officers declared firearm competent.

Gen Phiyega replied that 378 police stations were selected based on statistics from Stats SA. The analyses looked at developments in informal settlements, for example and their impact on police stations. Demographic analyses looks at churches, malls, schools and hospital not captured by Stats SA.

Lt General Mbekele replied that 500 officers went for K53 training with 1000 planned in 2015/16, all operational staff. The program was not going fast because it was dependant on testing centres availability. Learnerships were determined by SAPS needs at that moment especially accelerated artisan training program, public administration, paralegal, autotronics among others.

Ms M Mmola (ANC) asked why there was an omission of devolved targets. What kind of internships were offered by SAPS? She welcomed dot peen marking of guns. In which disciplines were bursaries awarded and what were the acceptable rates of capturing sick/incapacitation leave?

Lt Gen Schute replied that spending on devolved budgets was R100 million on the maintenance of 278 structures.

Gen Mbekele replied that interns were taken to know the world of work. 65 interns were in internal audit, 51 in automotive environment. The recruitment of interns was in the Skills Development Act and the Public Service Act. SAPS either advertised or went to the unemployed database from Labour and State Information Technology Agency (SITA). Interns could apply for vacancies in SAPS as they become available. They were put on perusal to avoid them hoping from one department to the other for internships again.

Bursaries were given for BA Police Science and Diploma in Policing. Bursaries were also awarded for scarce skills for example veterinary science in the dog environment, architecture, management and leadership as well as dictated by the needs of SAPS.

Mr Ramatlakane said that the presentation showed a lot of clarity compared to other Departments. However, SAPS targets were shy of 100% and he asked if this was informed by previous experiences. SAPS must make DPCI program six as expressed by the Constitutional Court rather than making it a sub program of detectives and this should be factored into planning going forward.

Lt Gen Mbekele said SAPS was not shying away from 100% targets but putting 95% was for any unexpected condition that may arise. For example the chairperson of a disciplinary hearing or a person attending the hearing could become sick or any other issue outside the control of SAPS. Where SAPS had 100% control, the target was 100%. The corruption target was 100%, but the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) recommendations might have arrived late and been investigated in the next final year hence the 95% target. New disciplinary regulations signed by the Minister framed up to 10 days to dispose certain cases. Trial units and disciplinary code of conduct would help speed up disciplinary hearings.

Mr Maake said that having a target like unscheduled absence was not correct as this target was uncontrollable and looked like SAPS wanted to identify if the person was really sick. The variation of 20% on infrastructure projects was very high.

Gen Mbekele replied that sick leave was being monitored because it had a financial impact. Health risk managers were giving a monthly report on sick leave trends. Management was supposed to manage sick leave as well as visiting sick people as a way of showing care. A report by Alexander Forbes showed sickness on warrant level and obesity levels which help improve health and wellness programs.

Gen Phiyega added that DPSA had flagged the need to manage sick leave. SAPS was assessing whether the attrition rate was normal or abnormal or if the organisation was making people sick.

Lt Gen Schute replied that the 20% variance was based on previous spending patterns and also derived from National Treasury. It was accepted in capital projects because of procurement.

Mr Mbele said the allocation of overtime payments spoke to disciplinary compensation. 80% of disciplinary cases resolved in 90 days meant that it did not have enough staff. The target of corruption in the force must be 100% not 95% as a symbolic expression from the police. He asked what the demographic analyses entailed and what it sought to achieve because he thought that this should have been captured in the current records.

Ms Kohler-Banard asked how SAPS intended to decrease murder, rape, running of civilians and shooting by police officers. What programs were there to demilitarise apartheid ranks and why was DPCI budget not ring fenced? She asked what SAPS intended to do on recruitment fraud to avoid having high ranking officials arrested for fraud.

Lt Gen Schute replied that the demilitarisation was not budgeted for. The Tactical Response Teams (TRT), stock theft and task forces could all be considered specialised units. The intention was to move to program six because of court rulings, but in creating a program a lot of processes had to be undergone according to Treasury guidelines, but it would exist in the near future.

The Chairperson asked if SAPS had gone back to square one because the former DPCI head once said the program was 90% ready to become program six.

Mr Ramatlakane said following the explanation of the Treasury manual, the program would not be established. The law was passed and signed by the President. The Treasury did not have veto power to change legislation. He asked if SAPS had made progress in terms of staff that needed to be transferred from SANDF.

Gen Phiyega replied that they had approached National Treasury to see if the program had to be like the Secretariat or not, but were told that the Budget Vote remained in the police. SAPS would further divide the pie chart as there was a legislative decision. The migration process between DPCI and detectives and the principles had been established but elements were still being refined and the legality of separation intricacies was being looked into.

Ms Kohler-Banard asked was it true that the Zimbabwe Republic Police was to be deployed to protect Zimbabwean nationals from xenophobia? South Africa was a sovereign nation.

Gen Phiyega replied that this was a sovereign country and she was not aware of any outside police officers intruding the borders. She was unaware of the Zimbabwe matter.

The Chairperson said that apart from percentages, numbers must accompany targets.

Gen Phiyega replied that the issue of leadership and management was very important for service delivery. Leaders inspired and influenced employees to achieve the desired impact by government and put a front eye on integrity. Clean hands were needed in policing and this was non-negotiable.

Vetting of senior managers was presented to the Committee last year and it was moving to procurement. Every member should be vetted and this must be current and continuous. SAPS had introduced a rigorous process on how it recruited in the police beyond desktop assessment.

The recruitment process had been restructured to the community level where initial assessment was done on prospective officers. An integrity unit had been established in SAPS and 20 ethics officers trained. SAPS was also working with universities in this regard. A national investigative unit was being established to investigate corruption cases within SAPS. There was a transversal target by the state to conclude all disciplinary cases in 90 days.

Trial units had been introduced in SAPS and they sought special skills within SAPS, in particular labour relations and legal knowledge. SAPS sought to enhance combined assurance using the auditor general, internal audit and management by reducing recurrent audit findings repetitions. The Inspectorate Board ensured that findings from the Auditor General were implemented as well as comments from the Committee.

Leadership was receiving training as leaders did not always remain knowledgeable. Lieutenant Generals were going for Executive Training at Witwatersrand University, going down the ranks to the Station Commander. Induction programs had been introduced for Colonels. A partnership had been established with UNISA Business School for program management training for women getting to managerial positions and the first crop graduated the previous year.

SAPS had been running a program of firearm competency on operational members specify which guns a member was competent in, for instance hand gun, short gun and R5. During training, a person may not use all guns, but after training will be competent in one.

Lieutenant-General Khehla John Sithole, DNC: Policing, SAPS, added that SAPS could require a detective competent in a hand gun. Members from basic training required competency in shot guns to go for public order policing. More so, officers could not use a gun for more than four years after training.

Ms Kohler-Banard said she knew that a quarter of operational staff around 40 000 did not have competency in fire arms and asked if this meant competency in all three guns. She asked if people were deployed with a competent certificate so that in the event of shooting, an officer should not be tried without competency of firearms.

Lt General Mbekele disputed this. There were 150 000 police officers employed under the SAPS Act with operation staff likely to be below 100 000 and a quarter of them was less than 25 000. A person who received a service allowance fell under operational staff.

Ms Molebatsi asked when a police officer booked a gun, did the station commander check if the person was competent for the gun to be given.

Lt Gen Sithole added in basic policing principles, all members to be deployed go on parade for inspection including firearms. Members deployed whether detectives or in stations were all competent in a hand gun. Members declared unfit were removed from the operational wing. The use of firearms was also done in terms of Section 102 of the Firearms Control Act.

Ms Molebatsi asked if previously disadvantaged police stations were prioritised.

Gen Phiyega replied they may be prioritised.

The Chairperson said informal and rural stations must be focused on too.

Gen Phiyega said that SAPS factored in the classification of stations whether brigadier or colonel station.

Lt Gen Schutte replied that SAPS could not track overtime patterns and certain absenteeism, but could try to link overtime to deployment of certain events. Overtime was more spent in provinces like Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal. Overtime was assessed by Provincial Commissioners and Station Commanders.

Gen Phiyega said the issue of reducing civil claims on the police was high on the agenda. A monthly report was being analysed looking at the trends in provinces, clusters and stations to be able to identify factors contributing to increase in litigations. This would help direct training on the issues that caused litigation. The trend of lawyers representing clients was also being examined to avoid what happened with the road accident fund. SAPS was also looking on the reputation and image of police behaviour around the court process, including which cases it succeeded in fighting and which ones it did not. It was recovering R10 million from 40 cases.

Lt Gen Mbekele added that the police were going into forensic auditing on law firms associated with civil cases against the police. They were also assessing whether officers deliberately colluded with law firms.

The Chairperson said SAPS must submit a comprehensive list of projects to be completed that year, including reasons for overrun and cost to date. SAPS must submit a list of stations it owned and those leased to SAPS.

Lt Gen Sithole said that holding cells were on the high agenda for the Inspectorate and those that did not comply were called to appear before the compliance board. The police had come up with a national escape plan and had linked the management of cells on escape of inmates as well as making the Station Commander appear before the Inspectorate.

Lt Gen Schute replied that six police stations should be completed that year, eight for upgrades and 23 for access for people with disabilities and about 23 mobile units. SAPS had experienced challenges with the Department of Public Works (DPW) in the past as their planning processes were lengthy, there was a lengthy procurement process and other contractors had become liquidated.

Lt General Adeline Shezi, Divisional Commissioner: TNS, SAPS, replied that SAPS had come up with a basic ICT policy for police stations. It was rolling out CCTV cameras and metal detectors as part of enhancing security.

The Chairperson asked what positive news would come to the Committee on ICTs in SAPS.

Lt General Shezi replied that page 40 to 43 of the APP submitted to the Committee showed the ICT expectation and targets of SAPS. The scanning of documents was not being used because of network problems especially on e-dockets. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) would help with skills transfer to roll out ICT related policies to SAPS. SAPS was analysing how it was looking in terms of ICT governance to develop a forward framework where it wants to go.

Gen Phiyega added that the main question was whether SAPS was organised internally to deal with its own technology and which things in technology it had control over. However, it had experienced serious problems on external dependencies especially DPW and SITA. Legislatively, SAPS knew what it wanted and where it wanted to go but external dependencies were a big problem. For instance the previous year, SITA cancelled a tender and it had to write and renegotiate and if SITA continued putting limits on SAPS, it would take fifteen years to have ICTs working well in SAPS. She appealed to the Committee to make its concerns known especially to DPW or organise a joint committee to make its request known.

The Chairperson said DPW and SITA would be invited to appear before the Committee as well as colleagues from the Public Works Committee.

Ms Kohler-Banard requested that a written list of projects under CSIR be submitted to the Committee in writing. She asked if any of the 1448 had been promoted.

Gen Phiyega replied that SAPS would submit the list in writing on projects under CSIR and the human resources will also submit a list of the 1448.

Lt Gen Schute said that leases were only procured via DPW. It did not have direct access, only the DPW adjudication committee and has not yet any limitations on this regard.

Program 2: Visible policing

Lt Gen Sithole said that visible policing consisted of crime prevention, border security and specialised interventions.

The presentation gave an overview of the strategic priorities: reduce levels of serious crime including crimes against women and children; addressing contributors to crime, which looked at the percentage of stolen/lost firearms recovered, the percentage of stolen/robbed vehicles recovered, the quantity of illicit drugs confiscated, and the volume of liquor confiscated; quality service delivery and responsiveness; enhancing partnership policing; and effective border security management, among others.

Notable targets included recovery of 86% lost civilian firearms and 24% state firearms, recovery of 50% of stolen vehicles, confiscation of 283.8 million illicit drugs, 100% police stations offering victim friendly units and 100% operating community police forums.

The expenditure estimates were R29 285, 4 million for crime prevention; R1 659, 8 million for border security; R2 886, 4 million for specialised interventions; R3 212,3 million for facilities; and a total of R37 043, 8 million.

Discussion

Mr Mbele asked why the recovery of lost/stolen state firearms was limited to 24%.

Ms Mmola asked how Limpopo would be capacitated taking into consideration Treasury cuts. She asked what the school safety programs entailed.

Lt Gen Sithole replied that the schools programs were informed by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between SAPS and the Department of Basic Education linking them to a police station and sector policing. SAPS were reaching out to all schools nationally, provincially and locally to bring awareness on drug related issues. It was negotiating making crime as part of the curriculum or a subject or part of a subject.

Ms Kohler-Banard asked why lost civilian firearms had a recovery rate of 80% compared to the state rate of 24%. Did SAPS members lose firearms or sell them? She asked why the vehicle recovery rate had dropped to 50%.

Lt Gen Sithole replied that the law was applied equally and across and any force members who were found to be selling firearms became a criminal. Investigations on firearms were linked to the Firearms Control Act and when state property was lost, a docket was opened. SAPS had other covert operations identifying loss of firearms. It did not have police officers repeatedly losing firearms.

Mr Ramatlakane asked if the 50% recovery rate of stolen vehicles was linked to SAPS capacity since lots of cars now had gadgets to trace them. Why was there only an increase of 3% on illicit drugs and why were most of the targets shy of 100%?

Ms Preneor replied that the micro dotting of vehicles lead to better recovery of stolen vehicles.

Lt Gen Sithole replied that the targets on drugs were guided by previous results and any other achievements above those would be a bonus.

Mr Maake said that the targets were aimed at reducing crime reporting instead of reducing crime and increase crime reporting. SAPS put the impression that it was not interested in recovering stolen state firearms.

Lt Gen Sithole replied that reporting of crime in police language was linked to prevention. Any police stations found hiding crime statistics would have committed a crime. Some crimes could be prevented whilst others were only reactionary hence the 3% increase on drugs.

Ms Susan Prenoer, Head: Crime Prevention, SAPS, replied that even if state firearms were recovered, state markings would have been removed and a large number were therefore not identified.

Ms Molebatsi said nyaope [a drug combining low-grade heroin and cannabis, though often cut with other substances] was destroying communities and asked why it was not included in the drugs listed in the presentation.

Lt Gen Sithole replied that SAPS had started a national program on nyaope and identifying hot spots of nyaope. It was engaging forensic services to identify which drugs were in nyaope.

Ms Molebatsi was surprised that the police seemed not to know the ingredients of nyaope as she herself knew the ingredients.

Lt Gen Sithole replied that from a lay perspective he knew the ingredients, but to effect policing, there was a need for scientific knowledge. Nyaope components differed from place to place, but it was assumed that heroine was the main component.

The Chairperson asked what could be done to increase crime reporting and what programs could be implemented to ensure that police stations became institutions of excellence.

Lt Gen Sithole replied that there were provisions for new stations targeted for opening in this financial year. Satellite police stations were opened after public outcry in public meetings by the Commissioner and communities. SAPS would prioritise public education to increase crime reporting and to make it integrated and multi-disciplinary, building the sector policing education sub program and community outreach. SAPS were also engaging in partnership with traditional leaders who were very influential in increasing public awareness.

Gen Phiyega added that public education was crucial but SAPS was also inward focussing. People were discouraged if they did not get feedback on their case and there was a need to build confidence in the police by increasing feedback mechanisms like the SMS alert system used by the Department of Home Affairs.

Ms Molebatsi asked if the police had finalised implementation of sector policing.

Mr Mbele asked if the percentage shift from the previous financial year were incorrect in some columns. The other problem with the police was that after a woman having engaged in a fight with her husband, instead of a docket being opened, the police urged the wife to go back reconcile with her husband which eroded confidence in the police.

Mr Ramatlakane said that he appreciated straight talk which helped build each other up. The success of the police depended on the success of visible policing. He asked if the 3% increase on drugs createed a positive image for the police and country. It communicated a message that the country had given up on drugs.

Mr Maake said that nyaope has been declared illegal. The mixture of dagga, methylated spirit and heroine was very dangerous.

The Chairperson asked if the R32 million allocated for gender-based violence was also part of the school program.

Gen Phiyega replied that SAPS was making integrated border management and 12 miles in maritime security. Border management had been centralised and decentralised. There was a need to ensure that the borders were well taken care of. Deputy Station Commanders needed to ensure that there was better administration while at the same time freeing some hands. In rural areas, there was a need to ensure that far out areas were reached. SAPS would rather go for straight targets in drugs and liquor than look at past performance. The problem with nyaope was that the court sometimes threw out a case because the quantities were too small to be considered a drug. If the courts were unprepared to work with it, it then became a problem as the underlying nature of crime was South Africa was becoming a country on drugs.

Lt Gen Sithole said SAPS was dealing with a revised drug master plan. A person who chased away a person from a police station was a crime as it was manipulation of crime statistics. About 90 to 98% of nyaope cases were withdrawn before they got to the row because the criminals made the packet so small that the case was not prosecutable. A girl in a church once told her pastor that she can only listen attentively to the word of God if she smokes. SAPS would engage national prosecution on the subject of nyaope.

Ms Prenoer replied that R32 million was dedicated for outreach to youth, for example hosting a provincial summit. It was also targeted for children at risk to educate them and allow the police to work with the community to prevent crime against children, elderly and the disabled.

Lt Gen Sithole replied that SAPS was prioritising high crime stations like Johannesburg Central, Durban North and the Mitchells Plain group.

Gen Phiyega replied that SAPS had localised recruitment. Transformation recruitment presented a challenge as people were deployed to the Western Cape after training and then applied to be transferred to their home provinces.

Lt Gen Mbekele said that SAPS had a program to assist the Western Cape because of the high exodus of employees. It had started a program of reenlisting with caution some people who left the police service to settle certain issues but still wanted to come back. The Western Cape was allocated 1000 posts.

Gen Phiyega said the reenlistment of 300 people had been already authorised.

The Chairperson thanked the police for a long day. The presentation would continue on Tuesday 21 April 2015.

The meeting was adjourned. 

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