SAPS briefing on progress with “Pockets Of Excellence”; SAPSSecond Amendment Bill: discussion

SAFETY & SECURITY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
26 August 1998
PROGRESS WITH "POCKETS OF EXCELLENCE": BRIEFING; SAPS SECOND AMENDMENT BILL: DISCUSSION

Documents handed out
SAPS Second Amendment Bill
Information note: Pockets of Excellence (see appendix)
Overview of Presentation

SUMMARY
This meeting was a report by police management on the progress of "Pockets of Excellence".
The committee also discussed the South African Police Service Second Amendment Bill. The motion to continue with this Bill was voted on and the majority voted against continuing with this Bill.

DETAILED MINUTES
"Pockets of Excellence"
Mr Meyer Khan (CEO: SAPS) gave a status report on the "Pockets of Excellence established to deal with management and human resources issues with a view to improving service delivery at station level.
- In Johannesburg police stations are now divided into two divisions, namely community service centres and crime centres. Minor complaints are attended to by the community service centres which are comprised of patrolling units. Detectives at the crime centres are concerned with serious crimes and no uniformed policeman will attend to these crimes except for trained detectives who will also be able to take statements from witnesses on the scene of crime. There are specialised units within the detectives. There are also support services to attend to the administrative work, for instance, checking out firearm licences. There is also a Crime Intelligence Commission.
- 336 people have been transferred to different police stations and many of them have not been replaced.
- 5 police colleges are going to release 250. The majority of transferred people has been placed in Gauteng and those from the colleges will go to other provinces. About 670 civilians has been employed and trained to perform the tasks of those police officers who are leaving.
- Regarding the quality of investigation, there is a positive stream developing between reported cases and cases going to trial.
- Due to improved intelligence, arrests by detectives have risen. In all Gauteng police stations, crime desks have been established to assist crime intelligence. Members in the Police Service have started to acknowledge the need for intelligence.
- With regard to absenteeism, the numbers have decreased.
- The number of escapes from police cells has decreased.

Questions by committee members:
1. In answer to a comment about the lack of public awareness of these efforts to improve service delivery, Mr Kahn responded that they had worked hard to liaise with the public through public forums.
2. What can this committee do to advise you in terms of budget allocation?
Response: At the very least we could be assisted by a 7,8% increase in our budget because gang wars on the Cape Flats, taxi violence and highway heists all need sufficient personnel and equipment.
3 There is no comparison between reported cases and cases that have successfully gone to court? Also you did not touch on the issue of death in police custody.
Response: On the question of comparison between Cases on hand and Cases gone to court, what we are trying to show is that at least now we do have information as compared to the past. Statistics for deaths in police custody is the duty of the unit which is investigating crimes committed by police. This briefing was only concerned with the progress of "Pocket of Excellence". 4. How do you deal with the killing of farmers and police personnel? Was there any communication between your department and Correctional Services when 9000 prisoner were released? When transferring a police officer from one station to another due to corruption committed by him, are you not transferring the problem from one station to another?
Response: The killing of farmers and police personnel is terrible. Cooperation between the police, the SANDF and rural communities needs to be encouraged. The question of the early release of prisoners should not be directed to me. What I can say is that there has been a lack of co-operation between Correctional Services, Justice and the SAPS. When a police officer has been charged with corruption, we suspend him - we do not transfer him. Recently we have arrested two police sergeants in connection with a highway heist.

SAPS Second Amendment Bill
The ANC believes that the bill is not the positive route to be followed, therefore do not feel that the bill is desirable at this stage.
The IFP commented that this bill does not say how long the volunteers should serve, does it tie down volunteers, are they allowed to be members of the union, if so, who is their employer?
The NP feels that there are not any real problems with the bill. However a serious problem lies with the budgetary constraints in respect of training these volunteers.

A motion to continue with the Bill was read. The NP and DP supported the motion, the ANC did not support the motion. The Committee took a vote:
ANC (14 votes) was against the bill
NP, DP, IFP (with only 4 votes) were in favour of the Bill.
The Bill ultimately failed as a result of the voting.

Appendix 1:

Pockets of Excellence: progress report

INFORMATION NOTE

To: The Chairman of

The Portfolio Committee for Safety and Security

National Assembly

CAPE TOWN

From: The Head

EFFICIENCY SERVICES

Dear Mr Molekane

BRIEFING TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY : WEDNESDAY 1998-08-26:

PROGRESS REPORT ON POCKETS OF EXCELLENCE

BACKGROUND ON PROGRAMME JOHANNESBURG

The POLICING PRIORITIES AND OBJECTIVES for 1998/99 indicates that a model for policing is to be developed in Area Johannesburg in respect of key policing and organisational issues that are most likely to have an impact on personal safety and security, through concentrated attention and national assistance. Programme Johannesburg, as the initiative is known, is intended to result in numerous best practises and pockets of excellence which, after having successfully been piloted in Johannesburg, can be applied anywhere else in the country. Johannesburg was selected as the pilot area not only as a result of its crime situation and the need to redress policing in general, but also because it is seen as the economic and development barometer of South Africa - the situation in Johannesburg being perceived as an indication of the safety and security situation in the rest of the country.

The core functions of the South African Police Service have been defined as crime prevention, the receipt of complaints, the investigation of such complaints and the application of crime intelligence in support of such activities. To ensure integration between these various and autonomous functions, a model is being developed that is less bureaucratic, more cost-effective, client-friendly and conducive to the free-flow of information between the respective operational and business units.

To effectively manage the implementation of the programme, a provincial steering committee has been established comprising national, provincial, area and operational functionaries. The Area Commissioner of Johannesburg is responsible for the implementation of the Programme and is assisted in his regard by the Head of Efficiency Services, Head Office. Four Sub-Area Commissioners have also been appointed to establish effective functional business units comprising an average of five stations per sub-area.

In order to implement the model, the structure of police stations have been redesigned to comprise a Community Service Centre and a Crime Office which operate in close conjunction and in support of each other, from which all client services are rendered. Ideally they are located in close proximity to one another in order that clients are not sent from office to office, building to building.

When a client arrives at a police station, he or she will now be directed to the Community Service Centre if the service is of an administrative nature. If the client's need relates a criminal matter, he or she will be referred to the Crime Office where competent personnel are on hand to attend thereto.

This approach ensures the optimal utilisation of available and potential capacity and ensures that personnel are utilised in terms of their respective skills and competencies. Specialised policing functions are made more accessible to our clients, operations become prioritised and available resources are allocated according to such needs.

Other benefits of this model include:

* more timeously and specific attention is given to complaints;

* immediate and appropriate attention is given to our clients, regardless of the nature of the services that they require;

* statements are taken immediately from complainants and available witnesses;

* alleged perpetrators are speedily identified and immediate attempts can be made to trace them;

* immediate attention is given to serious and priority crimes; and

* the only cases that are referred to the Detectives or to specialised units for further investigation are those in which there are positive leads or of a serious nature.

This model is being facilitated by means of a Service Delivery Improvement Programme through which trained personnel are assisting station personnel to undertake a diagnostic analysis of the internal and external environment of each policing precinct, identifying and prioritising key focus areas on the basis of such analysis, and developing implementation plans to address such prioritised areas through the reallocation of personnel and resources to such areas. The focus areas that are receiving attention in this regard include crime prevention through the establishment of sector policing - particularly in those areas where crime is at its highest, crime information competency and capacity at local levels, crime reaction, investigations, resources and cost-effectiveness. The result of this exercise is the development of a Performance Chart which is to be publicly displayed at each police station, whereby desired and actual outputs and results in respect of each focus area are quantified. The Performance Charts have been computerised to negate the need for physical calculations. The execution of the action plans are thus intensely directed by the achievement of predetermined targets which will be assessed quarterly by performance evaluation teams.

A Community Service Line is also to be established and marketed whereby clients can report incidents of unacceptable service delivery, and this mechanism will also be utilised in assessing the performance of police personnel.

Additional projects are also being managed in support of the Service Delivery Improvement Programme to develop further pockets of excellence. These include Effective Detective, Professional Conduct and Standards.

· Effective Detective

This project is aimed at making detectives at station level more effective by addressing the case load of detectives, the screening of case dockets, the level and quality of inspections and the flow of case dockets.

These aspects are being piloted through the implementation of the following strategies to improve investigations and the quality thereof, at eight police stations in Johannesburg:

* increasing the detection rate,

* reducing the ratio of cases rejected by prosecutors or courts,

* limiting the number of escapes from police custody, and

* improving the capacity and skills of investigators.

Benefits anticipated through the project include reducing the work that must be "redone" by investigators, improving the distribution of the workload of investigators and improving the quality of investigations. The advantages hereof are improved productivity and effectiveness of investigators, improved resource management, more successful prosecutions and standardised procedures.

For clients, the reaction time spent on complaints received will be improved and they will be encouraged to become more cooperative and involved in the investigation of their complaints.

Professional Conduct

Four areas have been prioritised in respect of professional conduct that are receiving attention. These are absenteeism, discipline, anti-discrimination and education, development and training. The approach in this regard is to rely on basic principles of rewarding positive behaviour and discouraging unacceptable behaviour, and adopting a zero tolerance towards behaviour which compromises the professionalism of policing services.

The following achievement can be cited in respect of the pursuit of professional conduct that supports professional service delivery:

DISCIPLINE:

* 130 senior officers have been briefed on the role and impact of their guidance and direction on professional conduct and effective service delivery;

* a Customer Care Line is being implemented by which members of the community can report or seek recourse in respect of unprofessional services;

* Code of Conduct certificates have been signed by 80% of all members;

* handouts explaining misconduct, the disciplinary process and procedures, and the individual rights and obligations of members have been distributed to all stations and units for distribution among all members;

* supervision and inspections have been stepped up with local and frequent organised and unexpected visits being carried out by officers from Area, Provincial and National levels;

* additional personnel have been assigned to the Disciplinary Section to optimise the finalisation of disciplinary processes - all disciplinary officials have been trained in the new disciplinary regulations and processes;

* unions have been brought on board in support of professional standards of conduct;

* administrative processes have been optimised, tendencies are being monitored (e.g. escapes from custody, absence without leave) and 90% of the backlog of outstanding cases has been addressed; and

* of the 232 disciplinary proceedings received since 1 April 1998, 63% have been prosecuted.

ABSENTEEISM:

* until November 1997, absenteeism was considered to include vacation, study, maternity and normal sick leave, attendance of courses, injuries on duty and absence without leave. In this context it was reported during 1997 that an average of 30% of all members were absent from duty each day. Subsequently, absenteeism has been redefined to refer to sick leave and absence without leave as these are areas that need to be managed as opposed to legitimate reasons for absence or absence from duty which is in the interests of policing;

* a system has been introduced by which the incidence of absenteeism is monitored on a monthly basis;

* the 10 most prominent abusers are monthly identified, visited at their residences, given written warnings, reports received from their media! practitioners and clinical reports completed;

* a committee has been established to visit those stations at which absenteeism appears to be an inherent problem;

* an approach of back-to-basics has been adopted to effectively apply existing rules and regulations without exception and to the letter, to challenge unauthorised absence from duty; and

* since the implementation of these measures, the frequency of absenteeism

was as indicated below:

April 1998 - 16,7%

May 1998 - 14,3%

June 1998 - 12,8%

July 1998 - 12,3%.

ANTI-DISICRIMINATION:

* a task team on anti-discrimination has been established and communicated to all stations and units;

* representivity of specialised units and the highway patrol is being targeted; and

* workshops on affirmative action have been conducted at Rosebank, Sandton, Cleveland, Brixton and Sophiatown.

EDUCATION, DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING:

* an analysis of the job specifications and post profiles of personnel performing duties in Community Service Centres has been undertaken which is to be supported by an audit of current skills to optimise the performance, skills and competencies of personnel delivering direct services to the public;

* training of newly appointed PSA personnel has commenced; and

* station personnel are attending service delivery workshops

* In addition to this, the numbers who are indicated below have attended different training sources as indicated:

* JUPMET Station Management Programme (Wits and Pretoria Universities) 22 trained

· Programme for Middle Level Managers (SAPS Management Development Centre, Pretoria) 15 trained

· Operational Management Programme Phase 2 (OMC2) (SAPS Management Development Centres Graaff-Reinet and Pretoria) 20 trained

· Operational Management Programme for Officers (OMPO) SAPS Management Development Centre, Paarl) 17 trained

· Code 08 K53 Driver Training (Benoni Mechanical Training School) 120 trained

· Diversity Training (Gauteng Province Training) 37 trained

· Ubunye Workshops (FTO's, Area Johannesburg trainers) Approximately 1 500 trained

· Specialist Detective Training (Various) (SAPS Detective Academy, Pretoria) Approximately 12 trained

· Workshop for Senior Officers logistics and Financial Management) (Gauteng Training) 5 trained

· Victim Empowerment Psychological Services in conjunction with NGO's) 40 trained

· Workshop for Crime Prevention Units (area Johannesburg sub-area heads of Crime Prevention) 25 trained

· Workshop for Crime Intelligence Officers (Dr CP de Cock) 25 trained

· Emergency Life Support (Dr Franaco Plani) Approximately 35 trained

Further initiatives in the process of implementation include:

* Client Satisfaction Cards at service centres;

* the expansion of the POL-TV network; and

* the introduction of Service Achievement Awards to reward commendable service Delivery

Standards

The objective in this regard is to develop a culture of saving in order that available resources may be utilised effectively and efficiently, by identifying high expenditure items and to ensure value for money by setting standards and introducing control measures in conjunction with relevant managers and commanders.

The following items have been identified and specific control measures are being implemented:

* fuel management,

* maintenance of vehicles,

* overtime,

* subsistence and travel expenses,

* telephones.

Current standards are being evaluated and adapted, and will be integrated into the Performance Charts (as mentioned above) of stations.

Programme Johannesburg is still in its infancy and initial stages of implementation. It is submitted that it is too soon to assess the overall success and effectiveness of the Programme. Nonetheless, it can be said that the initiatives outlined above have become the priority and key business of the police in Area Johannesburg, towards which resources are being directed. Through further facilitation, assessment of performance targets and focussed interventions, it will be ensured that the objectives of the Programme are met.

OVERVIEW ON PROGRAMME JOHANNESBURG

1. Model of the operation of a Police Station

2. Cases on Hand

3. Cases to Court

4. Arrests by Detectives

5. Solution Rate

6. Statistics of Serious Crime

7. Intelligence Reports

8. Enlistment of Civilian Personnel

9. Personnel Plan

APPROACH / IMPLEMENTATION

1. Model of the operation of a Police Station

- Community Service Centre receive complaints either in person or by telephone

- The complaint is been attended to by the Police Station vehicle or by the Flying Squad vehicle in cases of emergency

- Activities to be preformed in the Community Service Centre are for example:

- accident reports,

- admission of guilt,

- statements/ affidavits,

- court duties,

- processing of prisoners,

- certifying of documents,

- finger prints.

- At the Flying Squad calls are received via the 10111 telephone number or via the community service centre

- A Flying Squad/Community Service Centre vehicle will be then dispatched to the complaint

- The Flying Squad personnel will then do the first information of crime as well as the processing of the complaint

- The Crime Office as part of the Police Station will deal with crime complaints and enquirers been referred to them by the Community Service Centre

The Crime Office will attend to complaints where applicable

- Where a docket is open for criminal investigation the dockets will be processed with regard to:

- minor offences

- serious crimes

- firearm/liquor

- In less serious offences the Crime Office will take statements where applicable and register the complaints on the CAS system

- 24-Hours inspections will also be performed and dockets be closed where applicable

- The Crime Intelligence Office will obtain and supply information form and to:

- Community Service Centre

- Crime Office

- Crime Prevention Unit

- Detectives

- The following reports will be submitted by the Crime Intelligence Office:

- daily

- weekly

- monthly

- yearly

The content of the reports will be either operational, management, strategic or statistical.

- The Crime Prevention Unit will receive information from the Community Service Centre, Crime Intelligence Office, Crime Office in order to take pro-active or re-active steps.

- Pro-active steps might consists of:

- observation,

- patrols

- sector policing

- media releases

- external informative actions

- Re-active steps might consists of:

- action to be taken on crime information

- lookouts

- minor investigations

2. Cases on Hand

- A case docket clean-up was performed at each of the following eight identified police stations for the months April 1998, May 1998 and June 1998:

- JHB Central

- Hillbrow

- Jeppe

- Randburg

- Alexandra

- Bramly

- Booysens

- Sophiatown

- Cases on hand:

- April1998 -21142

- May 1998 - 19259

- June1998 -17964

- The following tendencies were detected

- April 1998 to May 1998 Decrease of the Cases on Hand was 9%

- May 1998 to June 1998 Decrease of the Cases on Hand was 6%

- April 1998 to June 1998 Total decrease of Cases on Hand was15%.

3. Cases to Court

- Cases to Court:

- April1998 -425

- May1998 -820

- June1998 -649

- April 1998 to May 1998 Increase of the Cases to Court was 48%

- May 1998 to June 1998 Decrease of the Cases to Court was 21%

- April 1998 to June 1998 Total Increase of Cases to Court was 35%.

4. Arrests by Detectives

- Arrests by Detectives

- May1998 -286

- June1998 -456

- May 1998 to June 1998 Increase of Arrests by Detectives was 37%

5. Solution Rate

Solution Rate for the following months:

- May1998 -32.8%

- June1998 -33.3%

- May 1998 to June 1998 The average solution rate was 33%

6. Statistics of Serious Crime

- Cases reported from January to July for the following years:

- 1995 -91464

- 1996 -84731

- 1997 -85152

- 1998 -81076

- From 1995 to 1996 - Decrease of cases reported 7.4%

- From 1996 to 1997 - Decrease of cases reported 3%

- From 1997 to 1998 - Decrease of cases reported 1.3%

- From 1995 to 1998 - Total decrease of cases reported 11.4%

7. Intelligence Report

Intelligence reports completed for July 1998 by Area Johannesburg is as follows:

- Completed by members - 231

- Generated by Crime Int Office - 139

Intelligence requests to and from Crime Intelligence Office completed for July 1998 are as follows:

- Requests received - 130

- Requests forwarded - 186

Intelligence requests completed for July 1998 amongst stations and units are as follows:

- Requests received - 56

- Requests forwarded - 61

8. Enlistment of Civilian Personnel

- 677 Civilian personnel were enlisted

- 173 Police officials released from Admin to Functional duties

9. Personnel Plan

9.1 Manage Headcount

Down to between 120,000 - 123,000 over 5 years dependant on crime levels and financial constraint.

9.2 Present Position

Down from approved headcount of 135,000 to 129,000. (Annual Saving of more or less R420m p.a.).

9.3 Buffered By:

· Reduction in absenteeism ( see JHB Project to be rolled out);

· Re-allocation of human resource into basic policing for example:

- out of Head Quarters 681

- west metropolitan area 180

· Soft jobs replaced by civilians (see Project JHB )

· Conversion of Static Security Guards into new unit:

- 55 Wachthuis;

- 250 Additional recruited and to be trained;

- Potential into future 10,000 plus including court orderlies;

- Entirely dependant on budget allocations;

- Very cost effective.

· Restructure of reservists nationally. Policy determination in progress for full implementation 1999

· Training and development structure facilities and priorities being reviewed.