SAPS; National Secretariat of Safety & Security: Strategic Plan and Budget 2008/09

Meeting report

South African Police Service (SAPS) Strategic Plan and Budget 2008/9
Commissioner George Moorcroft, Head: Strategic Management Services, SAPS and Divisional Commissioner S Schutte, Head: Financial and Administration Services, SAPS gave a briefing on the Strategic Plan and Budget of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Commissioner Moorcroft said that the SAPS Strategic Plan 2005/2010 provided the strategic directives of SAPS for a five-year period, whilst the Annual Performance Plan indicated the priorities and objections that SAPS would focus on during the particular financial year.

Tables were presented for its various programmes, showing the initiatives and deliverables for Administration, Visible Policing, Detective Services, Crime Intelligence and Protection and Security. These included the implementation of Sector Policing at 169 high contact crime stations, and the establishment of risk management at all Divisional and Provincial offices. It was also announced that a new Unit, Protection and Security Services had been established that dealt with VIP Protection, Static and Mobile Security, Port of Entry Security, the Rail Police, Government Security Regulator and Operation support.

The key strategic initiatives included national crime combating, firearms strategy, crimes against women and children, prevention of attacks against and killing of police officials, corruption and fraud prevention, risk management and improvement of services.

SAPS had also implemented an Integrated Justice system that would see closer engagement with the National Prosecuting Authority in effectively managing the large caseloads at Courts. R224 million had been allocated and spent.

In accordance with the President’s “Business Unusual, All Hands on Deck” comment, the fighting of crime was established as a major socio-economic evil that had to be addressed. There would be a nominal growth of 36%, from R36.3 Billion for 2007/2008 to R49.3 Billion in 2010/11. The sharp rise in the budgetary allocation to SAPS would see the appointment of additional personnel and investment in capital assets such as motor vehicles and bullet proof vests.

The presentation also showed that SAPS would invest in upgrading and integrating its Forensic Science Laboratories as a new building was being constructed in the Western Cape for FSL purposes as well the allocation of R1.3 Billion for the Soccer World Cup in 2010 that would ensure the smooth running of the showpiece in terms of safety and security.

Secretariat of Safety and Security: Strategic Programmes and Financial year 2008/2009
Mr Themba Mathe, National  Secretary: SSS, briefed the Committee on the Secretariat’s Strategic Programme 2008/2009, Annual Allocation and Expenditure for the financial year 2007/2008 and the Programmes and Budget for 2008/2009

Strategic support to the Secretariat, encouraging and enhancing responsible community participation in crime prevention (Social Mobilisation and the creation of Community Safety Forums), the effective management of human capital and financial resources and the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the policing policy by SAPS were some of the strategic priorities highlighted by the National Secretariat.

In keeping in line with the Strategic objectives of the Secretariat, an amount of R19 787 479 million had been set aside for this purpose, with R533 050 being set aside for Social Mobilisation, R695 243 for the establishment of Community Safety Forums and R498 732 was set aside an integrated electronic document management system, amongst others.

Discussion
The Chairperson commented to the SAPS delegation that Parliament consisted of two houses, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces and that the National Assembly was not the only entity responsible for legislation and oversight.

He thanked SAPS for their rapid response to the xenophobic violence that engulfed the country and said that the message should be sent out that “crime does not pay” and added that the intelligence vacuum within the security apparatus of the state failed dismally in detecting the xenophobic violence that had erupted.

The Chairperson noted that he was most concerned to hear that the policemen who had placed a woman in a holding cell with men because she “looked like a man”, was still stationed at the Graskop Police Station. He called on SAPS to ensure that the policemen responsible were removed from the police station immediately. He also called on SAPS to bring a male policeman to book that had refused to carry out instructions issued by his female superior in Mpumalanga.

Mr S Shiceka (ANC, Gauteng) said that in future the political head as well as the National Commissioner need to be present when SAPS briefed Parliament as there were matters to which only they could give answers. He added that it had become apparent that the current Acting Provincial Commissioner of Police in Mpumalanga was incompetent and that SAPS had to consider redeploying the Deputy Commissioner of Police from the North West to that province.

Commissioner Martha Stander (Deputy National Commissioner, SAPS) replied that an operational Deputy Commissioner had been appointed in that province to address the problems and that the situation was being assessed.

Mr Z Ntuli (ANC, Kwazulu-Natal) asked if SAPS personnel targets were in accordance with the targets set out in the President’s State of the Nation Addresses in 2007 and 2008.

Commissioner Stander replied that the personnel targets highlighted in the Annual Report had been drafted in consultation with the Presidency.

Mr D Worth (DA, Free State) said that there had been reports that some reservists refused to share bulletproof vests with the police. He asked if SAPS still paid the amount of R100 000 to policemen/women killed on duty.

Mr Mathe (National Secretary, SSS) replied that SAPS had always paid the death grant, regardless of whether its staff had a bulletproof vest on or not.

Commissioner Matthews Siwundla (Divisional Commissioner, SAPS) added that SAPS currently had 182 000 bulletproof vests and that reservists had also used these vests.

Ms F Nyanda (ANC, Mpumalanga) asked how many female detectives had been trained so far.

Divisional Commissioner Gary Kruser (Training Division: SAPS) replied that he did not have the exact figures, but would provide these at the next meeting.

Mr Ntuli asked what the mitigating factors were that led to police reservists being paid late or not getting paid at all.

Commissioner S Schutte (Divisional Commissioner: Financial and Administration Services, SAPS) replied that reservists were paid weekly and that his office would investigate the claims made by Mr Ntuli about late or non-payment.

Mr M Mzizi (IFP, Gauteng) noted that during a recent visit to his constituency in Thokoza, he encountered youths who said that they were a valid anti-crime organization, not aligned with the local Community Police Forum. He requested clarity on whether this was a provincial matter as the Gauteng Provincial MEC, Feroze Cachalia, had been aware of this organization operating in the province.

Mr Mathe replied that such structures did exist nationwide under the Bambanani Safety Campaign and that these volunteers did patrol duties in conjunction with the police. He said that this did pose a problem as SAPS could face civil litigation if these volunteers died or got hurt in the line of fire, hence the Secretariat was planning to engage with provincial governments on this issue.

Mr Ntuli said that the intention behind Community Police Forums was to assist the police in fighting crime, but it seemed that these structures were being controlled and abused by station commissioners. He added that at the ANC National Congress in Stellenbosch, a resolution was adopted that would see the implementation of legislation to address Community Police Forum (CPF) matters. The CPF was a component of the planned Community Safety Forum (CSF) and there was a need to integrate all policy directives around this burning question.

Mr N Mack (ANC, Western Cape) said that it was aware of many shebeen owners being closely aligned to Community Police Forums and asked what SAPS was doing to address this unethical behaviour. He called on SAPS to assist the Western Cape in dealing with the Tik crisis as it had a direct impact on the high level of crime in the province.

Mr Meshack Mogatusi (Director: Monitoring and Reporting, National Secretariat of Safety and Security) noted that Community Police Forums came into being under the SAPS Act of 1996, hence the need for new legislation. He added that most Community Police Forums were properly trained. Consensus first had to be reached on whether the SAPS Act had to be amended and renamed the Safety and Security Act. The Minister had identified some problems and proposed amendments to the Act would strengthen these structures.

Mr Mathe added that CPFs would remain under the jurisdiction of police stations, until legislation proved otherwise.

Ms Nyanda said that on a recent constituency visit she asked the local station commissioner to provide her with statistics on the crime rate. The station commissioner fabricated the statistics. She eventually asked him to bring her all relevant documents when she determined that crime was not under control in her constituency. She related a story of a man being murdered and his girlfriend repeatedly raped and the local police station’s incompetence in arresting the suspects. This was the same commissioner who had shown absolute contempt for the provincial police commissioner who visited the police station in question and discovered that the staff there could not account for the station commissioner’s whereabouts.

Commissioner Stander said that this matter had been brought to her attention and it was under investigation and the outcome was still pending. She hoped to have an accurate response at the next meeting.

Dr J van Heerden (FF Plus, Free State) asked who coordinated the activities of social mobilization organizations as there was the danger that these organizations could end up competing and thus losing sight of the vision and mission of their respective organizations.

Mr Mathe replied that the aim of social mobilization was to ensure systematic engagement between the various role-players in mobilizing against crime and that the Secretariat would make sure that this mobilization was not turned into a competition.

Mr A Moseki (ANC, North West) commended SAPS for their quick intervention during the rise of the xenophobic violence in South African townships. Most of the people that were arrested, however, were not the ones who were responsible for the 56 murders that occurred. He added that during the apartheid regime, South Africa had an intelligence service second to none. He suggested that these former operatives who had accepted the new dispensation should be asked to join SAPS, Department of Defence (DOD) or the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

Divisional Commissioner Raymond Lalla (Detective Services, SAPS) conceded that SAPS, NIA and the DOD had been caught off-guard by the sudden xenophobic violence, although there had been some indication that it might occur. The limitation had been on the part of the NIA, as they did not detect the severity of the situation. To date SAPS had confirmed that 56 people had been killed and another 750 had sustained injuries. Of those arrested, many had already been given court dates by the National Prosecuting Authority.

Commissioner Lalla said that 75% of the arrestees had been between the ages of 12 and 23. This fact was rather frightening. He thanked political parties and civil society for their assistance during that dark period in post-apartheid South Africa. People and organisations had to be cautious about perceptions and demarcations as this could lead to bigger problems.

Mr Shiceka said that that SAPS needed to move towards an intelligence-driven investigation policy as the weakness of the South African state was exposed when xenophobic mobs took the streets and reeked havoc.

Commissioner Kruser replied that a new qualification dealing specifically with crime intelligence, consisting of 24 programs, had been introduced.

Mr A Manyosi (ANC, Eastern Cape) asked what the CPFs had contributed in the provision of information on identifying culprits responsible for the inhumane acts that had been committed against foreign nationals.

Mr Mathe replied that a meeting was held in Pretoria with CPF leaders on how best to avert the spread of xenophobic violence. He commended the actions taken by a Sowetan CPF chairman who convened a meeting with locals to discuss the xenophobic violence. The result of this intervention was that no acts of xenophobia had been reported in Soweto.

Mr Mathe said that where leadership was good, positive results would come about.

Dr van Heerden asked for an analysis of in how many instances police bail had been granted and recorded by police stations as there seemed to be very little indication that police actually used this prerogative.

Commissioner Schutte replied that he did not have the relevant information, but would be able to furnish ths at their 3 June meeting.

Mr Manyosi said that SAPS had failed to address the issue of transformation in its presentation.

Mr Mack pointed out that it had been a policy directive of the previous Apartheid regime to locate police stations in town centres and asked what SAPS policy was on priority police stations. He said that in Beaufort West, police stations in the “coloured” and”black” areas had either been downgraded or closed and that this did not make sense as these were the areas that had been most affected by crime.

Commissioner Schutte replied that priority police stations should not be viewed as “good police stations” as these police stations dealt with the majority of crime committed in South Africa.

Divisional Commissioner Arno Lamoer (Visible Policing, SAPS) added that priority police stations contributed more then 50% of all the contact crimes in the country.

Mr Shiceka said that provinces had to play a bigger role in the budget allocation for SAPS and that intelligence-driven policing should be reflected in the SAPS budget.

Mr Amichand Soman (Director: Legal Services, NSSS) replied that the National Secretariat of Safety and Security did not deal with the SAPS budget, but with the Secretariat’s budget only. He added that the suggestion would be taken up as the Secretariat had an oversight role to play. Commissioner Schutte added that it was standard SAPS procedure to liaise with provinces on the SAPS budget.

In reply to Mr Ntuli asking what the staff ratio per vehicle was, Commissioner Lamoer said that the current ratio was two policemen/women per vehicle. Commissioner Schutte added that the ideal ratio would be 1 to 5 policemen/women per vehicle in terms of visible policing, but shift rotation and other facts made this impossible.

Mr Shiceka noted that South Africa’s borders were not secure. Borders defined a country and he criticized the police for not controlling South Africa’s borders properly. Thousands of illegal immigrants and drugs came into the country.

Mr Moseki said that there had been rising incidents of stock theft in the North West and in the Free State due to poor border control. This situation was worsened due to hijacking syndicates using South Africa’s borders to take hijacked vehicles into neighbouring states.

Commissioner Lamoer replied that a delegation did brief the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security about SAPS new strategy to curb the problems at South Africa’s borders and that the Minister of Safety and Security would give feedback on this.

Mr Shiceka asked why SAPS did not have a dog unit stationed at borders and at OR Tambo Airport.

Commissioner Schutte replied that there was a dog unit at OR Tambo as well as at Beit Bridge Border Post.

Mr Ntuli noted that it was not proper for the Independent Complaints Directorate to be a unit within SAPS as there could be a conflict of interest as well as bias.

Mr Mathe said that he could not comment on this as it was a policy issue that was within the realm of the executive.

Mr Ntuli asked what SAPS was going to do about the taxi drivers who beat up a woman who wore a miniskirt, and who refused to adhere to police orders.

Mr Mathe replied that it was worrying when people defied police instructions. SAPS had decided to take a restorative justice approach to this matter as to have an integrated approach on the issue of development. He added that the Secretariat had engaged with all provincial governments, youth formations and women’s rights organizations to find lasting solutions to these types of incidents.

Mr Mzizi asked how fast SAPS generated information on arrestees who had previous convictions.

Assistant Commissioner G Moorcroft (Head: Strategic Management Services, SAPS) said that SAPS had used fingerprints to expedite the process in ascertaining whether arrestees had previous convictions. In cases where previous convictions had not been picked up, the fingerprint process could have been flawed.

Mr Mzizi asked from where the money came that SAPS used to pay informants.

Commissioner Schutte replied that rewards for information that led to arrests, were classified under Goods and Services in the annual budget and that the normal baseline for this purpose was R40 million.

Mr Mzizi asked what SAPS was doing to prevent dockets getting “lost” as some police stations still used steel cabinets that made it very easy for dockets to be “misplaced”. Mr Worth added that he knew of one police station where dockets had been missing for 15 years with an estimated 14 cases being homicide-related.

Divisional Commissioner Siwundla replied that SAPS was addressing this phenomenon. It was unacceptable that dockets could go missing as each province had been allocated priorities each year for internal processes to give effect to the logistical imperatives. There was a need for effective real-time solutions for the accurate recording and classification of documents.

Mr Worth asked how many firearms licences had been processed in the past financial year and why the police did not have routine sector police patrols.

Commissioner Schutte replied that he did not have accurate information available, but he would definitely provide the information at the next meeting.

Mr Moseki asked whether it was only Africans that came into South Africa illegally.

Divisional Commissioner Lamoer replied that it was not only African people that entered or stayed in South Africa illegally, but also Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Chinese nationals.

Mr Moseki asked what was meant by “internal and external capacity” related to work done by and for the Secretariat of Safety and Security.

Mr Soman replied that internal capacity referred to the internal capacity that the Secretariat had in conducting investigations or studies without having to pay for it. External capacity referred to the consultants employed by the Secretariat which involved compensation.

Mr Moseki requested clarity on the extent of the working relationship between SAPS and the Department of Public Works which was responsible for property leases and maintenance of police facilities.

Commissioner Schutte said that SAPS enjoyed a very good relationship with the Department of Public Works as SAPS paid them for the maintenance of its buildings.

Mr Moseki commented that there had been advocacy for a more effective, visible policing strategy, as it seemed that SAPS did not fulfill its duties.

Commissioner Schutte replied that there had been a significant improvement in the SAPS Visible Policing Strategy due to the allocation of R15 billion for new staff and vehicles.

In response to Dr van Heerden asking what the purpose of automated vehicle location (AVL) was, Commissioner Schutte replied that AVL would ensure that police vehicles were tracked to determine location, its speed and whether it was static or moving. This would ensure that SAPS increased its service delivery objectives.

Mr Mack asked whether SAPS had the forensic capacity to perform adequately and to its fullest potential.

Divisional Commissioner Kruser replied that SAPS had lost a large number of forensic experts to the private sector and this had prompted SAPS to formulate an NQ 5 qualification which saw thousands of matriculants being chosen by SAPS to train as forensic experts.

Divisional Commissioner Lalla added that the Department of Health (DOH) was responsible for the analysis of blood samples taken from suspects and that all cases involving drinking and driving would be postponed for six months, pending the outcome of the tests by the DOH.

Mr Mathe again noted that Community Policing Forums would remain under the jurisdiction of police stations, until legislation proved otherwise.

Mr Manyosi asserted that the Criminal Justice Cluster in South Africa was virtually dysfunctional and asked whether SAPS and the Judiciary had a good working relationship?

Mr Mathe replied that the Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr J De Lange, had been mandated to address this issue. Policy directives had been drafted in conjunction with the National Prosecuting Services (NPS) and SAPS, to achieve better service delivery and to bring down the caseloads at courts.

Mr Manyosi asked what the main contributing factors were that led to fraud and corruption within SAPS.

Divisional Commissioner Lamoer replied that the main factor that led to fraud and corruption within SAPS could be ascribed to the “money factor”.

Mr Manyosi said that he had knowledge of one police station where the community had problems in getting a quick response time if at all from the police. These were instances of rape, assault and domestic abuse as well as murder. He noted that residents had resorted to lying to the police about illegal shipments of dagga being stashed in the township, to which the response was very swift.

Commissioner Stander said that these claims would be investigated if Mr Manyosi provided her with the relevant details.

Mr Mack said that rumours had been doing the rounds that certain people were planning on importing prostitutes for 2010.

Divisional Commissioner Lamoer said that prostitution was illegal in South Africa and that SAPS would enforce the law of South Africa to the letter.

Mr Shiceka said that it would be a good policy directive if police functions were devolved to provinces.

Mr Soman replied that this was a constitutional and policy issue that was best addressed by the Minister.

Questions to the National Secretariat for written response
Kgoshi Mokoena asked why the National Secretariat spent so much money on outsourcing and whether they had a capacity problem. He asked what the Secretariat’s spending trends were per month and why there seem to be such a lot of unnecessary posts within the Secretariat. He also asked for a breakdown of the job descriptions of the Directors, the function of the Human Resources Director and who the HOD for Legal Services was.

In relation to the Secretariat’s budget, he asked why the Secretariat was involved in “fiscal dumping”, by buying speakers and furniture with the extra R3 million left in its budget and whether this spending had been justified. He also asked for a detailed analysis of why the Secretariat had rollovers.

Questions to the SAPS for written response
SAPS were also asked to explain their expenditure trends per month and whether their internal auditing system was up to date.

Kgoshi Mokoena said that it was imperative for SAPS to follow up on the Graskop matter and to make sure that the policemen involved, were punished and redeployed to other police stations. He would take SAPS to task if they did not attend to this matter urgently, prior to their next meeting on 3 June.
 
Koshi Mokoena said that he had been informed that SAPS still paid salaries and other benefits to former staff that had resigned. SAPS had to upgrade the facilities that inspectors and detectives had to work in as they sometimes dealt with sensitive cases such as domestic abuse, rape and violence against children.

With regards to asset management, he asked how accurate SAPS asset register was and if SAPS enjoyed a good working relationship with the Department of Public Works as several government departments had indicated that their relationship with DPW was not good as buildings had been left to rot and decay.

He expressed his concern at the vast number of policemen/women charged by the courts when they were supposed to protect citizens against criminals. He asked which provinces had the highest rates of these incidents and why that was so. He asked what SAPS was doing to address this problem.

Kgoshi Mokoena asked what their promotion criteria were and whether SAPS gave their staff adequate crowd control training.

The Chairperson said that he had received complaints that SAPS was not sensitive when they dealt with complaints about violence and other related matters filed by gay and lesbian people and wanted to know whether this was true or not.

He asked SAPS to also investigate the actions by the station commissioner at Calcutta police station in Bushbuckridge.

The Chair adjourned the meeting.