SAPS & DPCI 2018/19 Annual Reports; with Deputy Minister

This premium content has been made freely available

Police

09 October 2019
Chairperson: Ms T Joemat-Pettersson (ANC)
Share this page:

Meeting Summary

Annual Reports 2018/2019

As a continuation from the previous day, SAPS proceeded with the presentation on their 2018/19 Annual Report for Programme 1: Administration, Programme 2 (Visible Policing), Programme 3 (Detective Services), Programme 4 (Crime Intelligence) and Programme 5 (Protection and Security Services). The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) also gave a briefing on its Annual Report.

Some of the concerns raised in the discussion by Members included:
• Lack of ammunition supply allegedly affected the prerequisite training for firearm competency for SAPS members.

• Lack of active vehicles available for policing – this seemed to be an urgent matter, because there were complaints from the public that when they call the police, they are told there are not enough vehicles available. Some committee members also did site visits to police stations and found that there was a lack of vehicles, most of the vehicles were in for maintenance or service which takes several months for their return. The Committee was made aware that the SAPS garages do not have enough capacity and infrastructure and there is a dependency on the Department of Public Works to provide this.

• Temporary issuing of firearms that have not been “dot-pinned” or marked raised serious concern. If the firearms get lost or stolen, they would be untraceable. The Deputy Minister and National Commissioner agreed that no firearms should be issued if they have not been dot-pinned.

• Victim-friendly police stations – although it is claimed that police stations are 100% victim friendly, there are still too many instances when police officers themselves engage in misconduct. Women and children in particular need to feel comfortable when coming forward to report crimes. Members also noted that witnesses are often reluctant to testify due to fear of victimisation and asked how SAPS deals with this.

• Target not met for employing people with disabilities – Committee members felt that more could be done to encourage those with disabilities to apply for positions at police stations.

• Parole and repeat offences – Members were concerned that people sentenced for serious crimes were not sentenced for long enough and were released on parole and became repeat offenders.

• Long outstanding toxicology reports – it takes between one to ten years to receive toxicology reports and Members wanted to know the cause for the backlog and how to make it more efficient.

Meeting report

The Chairperson mentioned that the meeting is a continuation from the previous day, which was a fruitful meeting. She thanked the SAPS staff and the Committee’s researcher for the documents, which were of a high standard.

2018/19 SAPS Annual Financial Statements
Lt Gen Puleng Dimpane, SAPS Divisional Commissioner: Financial Management and Administration (CFO), gave the financial report (see document) and gave an overview of spending of each of the five programmes:
- Programme 1: Administration
- Programme 2: Visible Policing
- Programme 3: Detective Services
- Programme 4: Crime Intelligence
- Programme 5: Protection and Security Services

Programme Performance
Maj Gen Leon Rabie, SAPS Component Head: Strategic Management, presented a slide that reflected overall performance for the last six years. For 2018/19, 90 of the 124 annual targets (72,58%) were achieved.
- Breakdown per financial programme (slide 96)

• Programme 1: Administration
- This programme achieved 22 out of 30 annual targets (66,67%).
- Targets that were not met relate to the following areas:
Slide 102: Capital works
Slide 103: Planned maintenance
Slide 105: Information Communication Technology (ICT)
Slide 106: Information Systems
Slide 107: IS/ICT Governance deliverables
Slide 112: Employment of people with disabilities
Slide 119: Competence in terms of the use of firearms (handgun)
Slide 120: Recommendations of Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) initiated
Slide 122: Distribution of mobile contract points (planned police facility projects completed)
Slide 123: Number of detention facilities maintenance completed
- Strategies that have/will be implemented to address underperformance for Programme 1 (slide 129)

Discussion
Mr P Groenewald (FF+) referred to the Electronic Telephone Management System Solution (slide 131), which was one of the strategies scheduled for implementation and asked what it entails. On the competency of firearms (slide 119 & 134), he mentioned that at some stations, specifically in Gauteng people could not attend training and prerequisite courses on firearm competency because of a lack of ammunition that had not been supplied – he does not know how accurate this is and asked for clarity on that matter. On the percentage of active vehicles available for policing (slide 124), he had received constant complaints from the public that if they call the police, they are told that there are no vehicles available. The report stated 6 594 vehicles are booked in for repairs or service and that a project was registered to enhance SAPS garages. He visited some of the SAPS garages where he just walked in and took photos, and nobody stopped him and there was a lack of security. What will really be done about this maintenance problem so vehicles are available when the public calls.

Mr O Terblanche (DA) referred to SAPS not spending the allocated capital works budget and only four of the 12 capital works projects were completed. Some people do not have proper police stations which is unacceptable. The challenges with capital works and planned maintenance cannot put blamed on contractors and late delivery because if you run such projects one needs to have timeframes, the same principle applies to vehicles. The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) supply chain management was blamed for lengthy procurement processes for network infrastructure contract (slide 105). Once again if goods and services need to be procured then they need to be done timely. He referred to disabled people employed in comparison to the total workforce (slide 112) and said there are a number of places where disabled people can be deployed. He had also visited police stations where one of the issues is that they cannot deploy people as they do not have ammunition. The upgrading of detention facilities and police stations is ideal but there is a backlog in those upgrades and in the meantime the police need to comply with international standards.

Mr H Shembeni (EFF) referred to some SAPS members that did not attend prerequisite firearm training and asked what is being done about incompetent police officers who are not properly trained to use firearms.

Ms J Mofokeng (ANC) referred to the unused capital works available funding (slide 83), which meant that most projects could not be completed and asked for the reason. Is it a problem with the Department of Public Works or was this an internal problem. On ICT and delays in telecommunication infrastructure, she asked how far they are in addressing that challenge. The telecommunication infrastructure will be important in the rural areas. On the challenge in recruiting people with disabilities, she questioned this when they had already established a Disability Task Team to deal with that matter.

A Committee member pointed to the comments by SAPS about their dependency on external stakeholders for progress. She requested that a plan be put in place to deal with that as it does not seem to be addressed in the management action plan.

A Committee member said that the presentation showed that there is progress within SAPS, because most of the annual targets have been met. She suggested that there needs to be monitoring of each and every project. While on recess, she visited a police station in East London, which was operating well but there was a lack of vehicles, they only had two vehicles but were meant to have 13. Most of their vehicles were in for maintenance and were only expected to return after six to eight months. If there are still such struggles with performance then what are the strategies moving forward?

Mr E Maphatsoe (ANC) agreed with his colleagues and did not understand how people were appointed if they were not competent and then it is reported that targets are not met due to lack of competence. He agreed that procurement for projects should be organised within a timeframe and that external stakeholders are not to blame. On competency, induction and training of people needs to occur in time to ensure they are skilled when they are appointed in the police force. The challenges with SITA need political intervention and cannot be compromised because SITA is aware of the technology that SAPS requires. The country’s police service cannot be compromised by incompetent systems. The police service needs to be competent to deal with criminals who are highly advanced. The lack of ammunition has made newspaper headlines both last year and this year, which means that the police are unable to shoot, which is a problem when they chase hardcore criminals, who fight back, kill our police and run away. There is money that is not being spent; this problem needs to be addressed.

Mr Terblanche asked if it is possible to investigate other possibilities to procure and maintain police vehicles.

Mr Groenewald referred to the procurement of firearms (slide 125) where 5 269 firearms were distributed from buffer stock, but those firearms were not dot-pinned and Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS) tested. This was very serious because of the theft and loss of such firearms. He questioned why.

Mr T Mafanya (EFF) said that the presentation has showed that SAPS has identified problems and identified solutions, but that the style of leadership is a challenge. The police men and women on the ground could find themselves helpless when they need to act. There needs to be robust police management that is able to detect, monitor and evaluate. The questions asked all boil down to the management style of the leadership. There should not be issues of money not being spent correctly, or not having sufficient vehicles. That shows that the police system is weak and not doing what it is supposed to. There should be introspection of the leadership of the police.

Mr Shembeni suggested that the Committee and leadership spend more time visiting areas and do oversight and be practical. There are some critical areas that do not need much thinking.

A committee member asked for clarity about the employee compensation budget and delinking of housing allowances (slide 81).

Response
SAPS National Commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, replied that the last delivery of ammunition was two weeks ago on a Saturday. A special committee has been appointed to deal specifically with ammunition. The type of ammunition needed differs, the ones used for training are not the same as the ones used in the field and for shooting purposes. They will take the directive to mobilise all service providers who supply ammunition to SAPS. It is expected to have sufficient deliveries of ammunition across the country.

On the number of active vehicles available for policing, the annual target is 85% of a total of 42000 active vehicles should be available. The annual target will be changed to 90%. Part of this process will include the phasing out of vehicles that are not operational which will be replaced.

There will be a special SAPS committee to work with provinces and mobilise young people and give them the capacity to serve. A challenge is that some police stations are too far from the people and they have to travel long distance to receive police services – there is the need to increase the scope of providing services.

They will ensure that all service providers deliver by contract, in terms of contract management. The contract management committee will serve as a monitoring instrument, to ensure that all irrelevant clauses in the contracts are identified, to take necessary action, to monitor and look closely at operational demands.

On the competency of firearm usage, this relates to the standard that SAPS has set for itself. The standard needs to refer back to the legislation. Shooting practice is a standard procedure within the SAPS.

To deal with external dependencies, there will be constant monitoring between SAPS, the Department of Public Works, SITA and all other government departments based on operational demand.

Lt Gen Ntombenhle Vuma, Deputy National Commissioner: Asset and Legal Management, clarified that the Electronic Telephone Management System Solution (e-Tel system) is a professional call accounting solution across traditional voice infrastructure that will assist with communications expenditure and individual telephonic allowances, while also assisting the finance department to accurately report on telephone costs.

The SAPS garages have outgrown their capacity, currently there are more than 48000 vehicles. The number is increasing but the SAPS garage capacity remains the same. They have been trying to engage with Public Works to ask for their assistance to help improve infrastructure as most of the concerns are infrastructure-related. There will need to be continuous engagement between SAPS, SITA and Public Works.

Those firearms issued from buffer stock would only be issued to members if there is a need.

Mr Groenewald pointed out that the dot-pinning and IBIS finalisation of firearms are an obligation. The police have admitted that this had not been done, which is a problem. It means that if the firearms are issued and they get lost or stolen, then there is no way to track the origin of those firearms, which makes it very lucrative for criminals. Before firearms are issued, they must be dot-pinned and certified.

Mr Maphatsoe questioned why those firearms are issued if they are not dot-pinned.

Lt Gen Vuma confirmed that the firearms that are not dot-pinned are not issued permanently to officers but are booked in and out.

General Sitole said that the Firearm Permit System (FPS), which is experiencing problems, is still owned by the Forensic Data Analysts (FDA). FDA is being phased out and once that is finalised then the FPS system will be under SAPS full control. This is urgent so that these problems never occur again.

Discussion
The Chairperson asked for a timeframe for when the Firearm Permit System would be under SAPS control.

Mr Groenewald said that it is even worse that those non dot-pinned firearms are issued out temporarily. There should be a final decision that no firearm is issued if it has not been dot-pinned and finalised through the system.

Mr Maphatsoe said the Committee wants to assist SAPS but that they must be transparent and tell the truth if something is not working. The constraints of the contract are understood, but those firearms are not marked and anything can happen during the temporary issuing of those firearms. He requested transparency so that the Committee can assist.

Response
Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale said that they agree with the Committee's concern. The issuing and taking back of firearms is dangerous and no firearm should be issued if it has not been marked. They will accept the Committee's recommendation. They will get back to the Committee to confirm the timeframe for when the FPS system will be under police full control.

General Sitole agreed that no firearm should be issued if it has not been dot-pinned.

Maj Gen Christina Sithole, SAPS Head: Facility Management: Supply Chain Management, said that it is true that there are some problems, especially with their dependency on external stakeholders and contractors, for planned maintenance of police facilities. In terms of site clearance, dependency is a serious problem, SAPS depends on the Department of Public Works and the Department of Human Settlements for the transfer of land. SAPS has put measures in place such as the provincial maintenance units to address maintenance and upgrades for cells and police stations in poor condition.

Lt Gen Bonang Mgwenya, Deputy National Commissioner: Human Resource Management, replied about SAPS members who do not have the necessary prerequisite training to use firearms. A total of 114 813 from 118 536 operational personnel were declared competent. Those who were not competent were never subject to the relevant training in terms of the Firearms Control Act. The reason for that is they have not yet undergone basic or lateral training. Once they have done so, they will then be given the opportunity to do firearm training. There are also members who are incompetent for reasons of either sickness or misconduct and their firearms are taken away.

On the challenges of recruiting people with disabilities, currently 1,50% members with disability are employed in relation to the total workforce. The annual target is 2%. There are action steps in place to encourage those with disabilities to apply and to deploy them.

Ms Mofokeng said that she is not satisfied with the response about recruiting people with disabilities. The justice system and police are failing disabled people because they do not have enough representatives to attend to their concerns, be at the same level with them and to confide in. The disabled need to be recruited. They are sitting with a disability not knowing that they can be deployed. Disability justice is just as serious as the challenges of gender-based violence.

• Programme 2: Visible Policing
Maj Gen Rabie noted the following:
- Overall performance showed 24 out of 33 annual targets (72,73%) was achieved.
- Targets that were not met relate to the following areas:
Slide 138: Number of reported serious crime (increased by 0,6% from 2017/18 to 2018/19)
Slide 139: Number of reported contact crime (increased by 2,6%)
Slide 140: Number of reported crimes against women (increased by 1,2%)
Slide 141: Number of reported crimes against children (increased by 3,9%)
Slide 145: Number of reported contact-related crime (increased by 1,5%)
Slide 147: Number of reported other serious crime (increased by 1,4%)
Slide 148: Number of crimes reported for unlawful possession and dealing in drugs (drastic decrease in arrests of 28,1% due to Constitutional Court judgment legalising cannabis use in certain circumstances)
Slide 152: Number of stolen/robbed vehicles recovered
Slide 154: Applications for new firearm licences finalised within 90 working days (-19,69% below target)
- Strategies that have/will be implemented to address underperformance for Programme 2 (slide 169).

Discussion
Mr Maphatsoe referred to the inadequate intelligence-driven operations (slide 152) that contributed to the unmet target of increasing recovery of stolen/robbed vehicles. He questioned if this is because there are not skilled people to do the work or if intelligence staff are not doing the work. On drug possession and dealing, he is impressed with the work of the National Drug Master Plan. They should not just focus on the big shots of the drugs but also focus on the runners on the ground. On the ground is where the damage is done, there needs to be more intelligence-driven operations in the townships because it affects our children. He therefore questioned why there is inadequate intelligence-driven operations. The focus also needs to be placed on the factories or manufacturing of drugs, as there must not be supply.

Mr Groenewald referred to reported contact crime (slide 139). The annual target states how much reported contact crime must be reduced by. The principle is understandable but that leads to a situation where one is not sure if one gets the correct data, where performance is measured by the number of crimes reported, but the target states that the number must be reduced, this is a problem. When crimes are reported that does not reflect performance of the police service. It is not fair to say that because more reported crimes are reported, that police performance is not effective. For example, domestic violence, which is a very sensitive issue and at times people do not want to lay charges, but now the problematic target implies that the police want there to be fewer reported crimes, which is a negative effect for people to report. SAPS should want to enhance the circumstances, especially for women and children, to report crimes. When crimes are reported the impression should not be that the police service are not performing correctly. The principle of the reporting needs to be relooked at, especially when it comes to crime statistics.

The slide states that some of the contributors to contact crime are “increased levels of unemployment and an influx of foreign nationals”, he questioned if this means that the increase in contact crime is because of the influx of foreign nationals. This statement - especially in light of the recent xenophobic attacks - leads one to associate foreign nationals with crime in South Africa. Comments by SAPS seem to indicate that it is rather syndicates of foreign nationals. Specific statistics are needed to deal with the matter.

On the appraised target that 100% of police stations are “victim-friendly” to service victims of rape, sexual offences, domestic violence and abuse, they must be honest with one another. Yes, the police stations may be victim-friendly but unfortunately the police members are not always friendly. There are still too many cases where women go in to lay a complaint and then get raped by the police. This is totally unacceptable and should be so severely punished that it does not happen again. He questioned what SAPS is doing; if there are programmes to train the police staff how to deal with women and children.

On the percentage of escapees from police custody, 656 persons escaped from police custody (slide 153). He asked what consequence management was applied to SAPS members who were in charge at that time.

On the training of Designated Firearm Officers (DFOs), he asked for clarity on what the present situation is when it comes to firearm owners who did not apply in time for the new firearm licences. Can a firearm owner apply for a renewal of the expired firearm licence or must they wait for the final outcome of the court case?

On the Constitutional Court judgment that declared cannabis legal under certain conditions, he asked for clarity, on what conditions are the possession and use of cannabis legal. The public needs certainty on how the police respond to this.

On the Rural Safety Strategy, he thanked General Sitole that the statistics on farm murders and attacks are included in the annual statistics. He also thanked him for the efforts of contacting agricultural unions; those organisations want to work with the police. There are unfortunately still too many areas that should be improved; he questioned what will be done to have better rural safety.

Mr Terblanche referred to the firearm renewal process and said that he is in the midst of the process himself and it is cumbersome beyond intent. He questioned how one gets a more streamlined approach, as some things are not put on the system which is unnecessarily needed every time when one goes for a renewal. He questioned what the main causes of the escapes from police custody are. That needs to be identified so that it can be managed. He asked for clarity on the implementation date of the Rural Safety Strategy.

Mr Mafanya referred to the interaction of communities with the police and said that it is important because people need to see police in a friendlier environment, so that trust issues can be overcome, and more crimes be reported. There should be more opportunities for police to engage with the communities; it should not just be for awareness campaigns. Communities need to see the police engage with them on the ground.

Mr Shembeni said that the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit (FCS) is an important unit that deals with gender-based violence, but when one looks at the conditions under which its people work, it is distressing; they do not have offices. He questioned how many FCS units there are in South Africa and why this area is not being improved.

Ms Mofokeng referred to the increase in number of reported serious crime (slide 138) and questioned how the information is analysed both internally and externally. There should be more focus on the root causes. She also raised concern about the many high-profile cases that are not opened and often overlooked, because high-profile persons, like business people and lawyers who commit crimes, are able to pay their way out. Such cases are disturbing and need to be checked. There are not enough women represented in the community outreach campaigns. She also raised concern about the toxicology reports (slide 178), where long outstanding toxicology reports, between one to 10 years, due to the complex processes of analysing samples. Is this a problem of capacity because it has been a problem for too long?

A committee member referred to the management action plans (slide 174) and the dates to be implemented. Her concern is that there are so many plans and those are additional plans. She questioned how they will ensure that the plans are monitored so that they will result in the proper outcome. All the reported issues require monitoring and evaluation and she questioned how this will be done.

A committee member said that the slide that stated that the increase in reported contact crime is due to the influx of foreign nationals cannot be blatantly reported like that without any specific information. Some people might read it in the wrong way.

A committee member referred to the National Drug Master Plan (slide 172) and said that communication education is essential and that there needs to be a programme together with the community outreach programmes that focus on addressing the targets of substance abuse, especially amongst the youth.

The Chairperson said that the incidence of all crime categories has increased. She does not see an improvement. The provinces with the most violent crime statistics must present their action plans to the Committee for every category of crime. The Minister and Deputy Minister keep on mentioning that if the President wants to reduce crime by 50% in 10 years’ time then they are committed to that priority. Another concern is removing the criminal elements within the police force.

She questioned what was happening at the Central Firearms Registry about firearm licensing. There are many incoming complaints from firearm owners.

Response
General Sitole requested that the Committee engage in a cluster summit to give SAPS the opportunity to document all of the concerns raised that the cluster must flesh out. Presently there is a turnaround plan for firearms and they can give a briefing on that. They accept the guidance from the Committee.

Intelligence operations are utilised to effectively take down the criminal mastermind. In terms of drugs, when there are more take downs of the mastermind then they take down the supply too. Performance will depend on the number of operations and not on intelligence operations, because intelligence operations will always be there. There are also other types of unconventional methods followed by intelligence.

On reporting crime, the idea is to make communities, especially women and children more comfortable to come forward to report crime. Any police member who is found to contravene the victim-friendly conditions and who deter the reporting of crimes will be dealt with immediately.

On the statement about contact crimes increasing "due to the influx of foreign nationals", the report should have not come across as being xenophobic. The reporting of such information should have provided a picture of how many of South African citizens have committed crime.

The Rural Safety Strategy is expected to be implemented by next week; the strategy will employ traditional management to ensure that there is more capacity in rural areas.            

Lt Gen Vuma, Deputy National Commissioner: Asset and Legal Management, replied that quite a sizable number of vehicles have been stolen: 28418 vehicles were recovered, including 22442 identified vehicles, 5773 unidentified vehicles and 203 vehicles recovered during cross-border operations. Some of the challenges were inadequate intelligence-driven operations and legislation or government in neighbouring countries that are not supporting the repatriation of stolen vehicles recovered in other countries.

It is agreed that due to the complex process of analysing samples, there is a backlog in toxicology reports. There are long outstanding toxicology reports which the Department of Health is also trying to deal with.

• Programme 3: Detective Service
Maj Gen Rabie noted the following:
- Overall performance showed 31 out of 39 annual targets (79.49%) was achieved.
- Targets that were not met relate to the following areas:
Slide 177: Detection rate for serious crime
Slide 184: Detection rate for contact crime
Slide 188: Detection rate for crimes committed against women, 18 years and above
Slide 192: Detection rate for crimes committed against children, under 18 years
Slide 202: Detection rate for other serious crime
Slide 209: Percentage of routine case exhibits (entries) finalised
Slide 211: Percentage of Ballistics (IBIS) Intelligence case exhibits (entries) finalised
Slide 212: Percentage of DNA intelligence case exhibits (entries) finalised
- Strategies that have/will be implemented to address underperformance for Programme 3 (slide 220)

• Programme 4: Crime Intelligence
- Overall performance showed 10 out of 15 annual targets (66,67%) was achieved.
- Targets that were not met relate to the following areas:
Slide 224: Percentage of network operations successfully terminated
Slide 226: Percentage of proactive intelligence reports operationalised by relevant business units
Slide 227: Percentage of reactive intelligence reports operationalised by relevant business units
Slide 237: Number of global threats assessment reports generated for SAPS operations
Slide 238: Number of persons of interest reports generated for SAPS operations
- Strategies that have/will be implemented to address underperformance for Programme 4 (slide 239)

• Programme 5: Protection and Security Services
- Overall performance showed 5 out of 7 annual targets (71,43%) was achieved.
- Targets that were not met relate to the following areas:
Slide 243: Protection at identified government installations and VIP residences without security breaches
Slide 249: Percentage of National Key Points evaluated
- Strategies that have/will be implemented to address underperformance for Programme 5 (slide 246 & 249)

Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) on its 2018/2019 Annual Report
Lt Gen Seswantsho Godfrey Lebeya, National Head: DPCI, provided an overview of the workforce profile and the attrition of personnel. He spoke on progress with the National Bureau for Illegal Firearms Control and Priority Violent Crime (NBIFCPVC); South African Enforcement Bureau (SANEB) and DPCI office accommodation.

Lt Gen Lebeya reviewed the performance indicators 2018/2019 and provided a summary of arrests, convictions and seizures. He provided performance overview and stories of success for each of the units:
– Serious Organised Crime Investigation
– Serious Commercial Crime Investigation
– Serious Corruption Investigation
– Priority Crime Specialised Investigation
He spoke about the revitalising of the Operational Committee before handing over to the SAPS CFO who provided the financial report (see document).

Discussion
Mr Terblanche said Programme 3 Detective Services, especially where targets had not been met, is worrisome as detection rates are very low. The reasons given are even more concerning as they refer to items such as the shooting tank or shortages of consumables over which SAPS must control. Those types of reasons are not acceptable at this level. The same applies to Crime Intelligence, which has very low percentages for targets met. Serious intervention is needed. Looking at the crime statistics in the country, we cannot have Crime Intelligence operating at a third of what it is meant to be. Protection and Security Services (slide 243) had three security breaches – house breaking at a Deputy Minister residence and two shooting incidents at parliamentary sites. A lot of money is spent on Protection Services. How can someone carry a firearm into the venue? Clearly there must be issues with security and access control. DPCI's presentation was interesting in terms of how certain cases were solved. Although there are good stories, the Committee has not been made aware of the extent to which it can improve and where the Committee can assist.

Mr Mafanya referred to the low detection rate for serious crime, where one of the reasons was that witnesses are reluctant to make statements for fear of victimisation. What did SAPS intend to do about this?

Mr Shembeni said something needs to be done about the long outstanding toxicology reports. There cannot be a waiting period of one to ten years as it makes it more difficult for people to come in years later to testify in court.

Ms Mofokeng asked about the turnaround time for investigations, as some investigations go on for a very long time, and one risks losing the case. The work of the Hawks should be commended but the parole system is worrisome. It needs to change because a person cannot get four life sentences and then be released on parole a few years later. It is the responsibility of Members of Parliament to ensure that the parole system changes. She referred to a case which affected her, where three men accused of defrauding the Agri-BEE Fund/Land Bank project, were found guilty and sentenced on 14 February 2019 (slide 48). However, the main perpetrator who was the CEO got the lowest sentence of only seven years. That entire case is worrisome because famers, youth and women have been cheated. She expressed her concern about the sentence lengths, especially for those who use their power. If they are wrong, they are wrong and must go to jail. Some cases that have gone to court are failed by the justice system, prosecutors, the legislation and the investigating officers, when fighting against people who are very corrupt.

A committee member noted the reluctance of witnesses to make statements due to fear of victimisation and asked if there is a plan to assist those witnesses. They are needed to testify or else the case will not be concluded.

A committee member commented that the unmet targets and some of the outcomes are disappointing. Also the strategies to address them do not include timeframes.

Mr A Whitfield (DA) referred to the DPCI organisational review outcome which included appointing a chartered accountant at head office. He asked if that has been done or what the challenges are for the appointment. He questioned what the "complex processes of analysing samples" is when it comes to toxicology reports; the explanation is not sufficient about the practice inhibiting progress in the turnaround time to produce toxicology reports. On the difficulty in tracing and arresting unidentified and undocumented repeat offenders, he requested that the Committee discuss this. Criminal law procedures need to be continually promoted. There are over 46 000 convicted offenders who have not had their DNA samples taken and this makes the job of SAPS difficult when trying to reduce the number of repeat offenders who commit horrific crimes. He questioned the underperformance and underspending in the forensic science subprogramme – what specific interventions are in place and what will be done to improve the performance of forensic outcomes.

A committee member asked that when referring to police misconduct, they be specific about what type of misconduct.

Response
General Sitole replied that in terms of the threats that witnesses experience, they will focus on the root causes, especially the prominent killings of witnesses. For witness protection, sometimes the threats cause the witnesses to leave the safe house and return to their families. SAPS will forge an integrated approach between the police and prosecution to deal with this matter.

On the concerns about the parole system, they will convene with the cluster and Correctional Services. What they have established is that there is a relationship between the parole profile and the repeat offender profile, so there is more repeat offending that is the outcome of the parole.

To improve forensics, there is a corporate renewal strategy which will deal with its overall improvement.

On the matter of rape by SAPS members, if they rape a person then that SAPS member becomes a criminal and will be criminally charged.

Lt Gen Lebeoana Tsumane, Deputy National Commissioner: Crime Detection, commented that besides the progress, they will do better in detective services. They will improve on intelligence operations to better their predictive capabilities. In protecting reluctant witnesses who fear victimisation, they will ensure that witnesses are safe and if needs be, they will ensure that the person is in a safe house. They will also look into ensuring the safety of witnesses after the case ends. Missing dockets are a concern. There is a strategy and way forward for dealing with missing dockets. What is key is that there will also be counter intelligence on serious crime cases.

On toxicology reports, there is normally interaction with the Department of Health to follow up on those results. The toxicology process is very intensive and expensive in nature and thus sometimes it takes time. However it is agreed that the process needs to speed up. Detective services are trying their best because they need the evidence.

They ensure that cases are finalised as soon as possible, however, in some instances it takes time, particularly with sensitive cases where the victim may be traumatised and not be ready to talk. They need to be patient until the victims are ready. The contamination of crime scenes is an issue; there have been engagements with police stations and the community on how they should approach the crime scene.

There is a repeat offender strategy in place to ensure that when people are on parole or on bail that they are overseen.

Lt Gen Lebeya commented about parole and gave the example of a man who was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for killing his one-year old child in Mpumalanga in 2005. He was released on parole. While on parole he was found guilty of a fatal car hijacking in 2016. When arrested he was in possession of fifty rounds of live ammunition. He was sentenced to life term imprisonment for murder and a further 15 years imprisonment for armed robbery. This case confirms the problems of parole, in that some who have been granted parole are not fit to be part of society. There are processes in place to try and deal with these challenges.

On the DPCI unmet targets, some of the reasons are the vacant positions, especially in specialised areas. The most critical challenge is that more human personnel are needed. When dealing with complicated cases, it is best to work in a team to expand the investigation. With more personnel, DPCI will be able to do much more than it is already doing.

On the illicit financial flows, most of such cases are found at the airports. The areas where there is repetition of instances of illicit money flows are known.

He replied about the comments on the length of sentence that it is at the discretion of the judiciary after listening to the arguments of the defence. There is also the mechanism for appeal. The criminal investigators can only ensure the evidence needed to prove the case is brought to the attention of the court.

The chartered accountants have not yet been appointed, there is still work to analyse to what extent they are needed, that status is not yet finalised.

Lt Gen Samson Shitlabane, Divisional Commissioner: Protection and Security Services, referred to the three security breaches, the housebreaking at the residence of a Deputy Minister, one armed robbery incident at the Pan African Parliament and a suicide shooting at Parliament. He confirmed that operational procedures will be of standard, so that there is clear accountability in terms of access control.

Lt Gen Peter Jacobs, Divisional Commissioner: Crime Intelligence, replied about the report indicating underachievement. The report did not adequately indicate performance in network operations. These are undercover operations that take between three to six months, so part of the calculation problem is that some of the network operations were registered in February/March. Consequently they would not have been completed in time. There has been registration and identification of 879 investigations on criminal syndicates in this year. Part of the process is that it takes three to six months to complete and do the investigation thoroughly. Despite that, it might appear that there is underperformance. There will rather be registration and then follow up of intelligence investigations.

In terms of the two operationalisation issues, crime intelligence is responsible for identifying an early warning system that there will be a particular threat or event happening. The challenge is to ensure that other units are also operationalised, which is a difficult indicator as there is no control of other operational units. Therefore, more focus will be put on joint operations to ensure there is consistent operationalising to deal with threats.

A committee member suggested that the Annual Report should include relevant comments that state “work in progress” or else it will be reflected as underperformance.

Lt Gen Jacobs agreed that their annual reporting would be adjusted.

Closing remarks
General Sitole said that the implementation of the Rural Safety Strategy will be launched on 11 October 2019. He welcomed the Committee to attend but if it cannot, it will receive a report on the outcome.

The Deputy Minister expressed his appreciation for the interaction with the Committee since the previous meeting. He accepts the advice and comments on what needs to be done. It is encouraging that the issues raised were also agreed upon by SAPS representatives. It will not be business as usual, the support and commitment by the Committee is appreciated. SAPS men and women in blue are committed, have the understanding, capacity and willingness to respond to the challenges the country is faced with and they will respond.

The Chairperson thanked them for the inputs and engagements of the past two days, which have been of a very high quality and cooperative manner, this is good for future endeavors and sets the standard for their working relationship, which is trust based on professionalism.

Meeting adjourned.
 

Download as PDF

You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.

See detailed instructions for your browser here.

Share this page: