Question NW2615 to the Minister of Police
30 October 2017 - NW2615
Lekota, Mr M to ask the Minister of Police
Whether, with reference to the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry which concluded its inquiry three years ago, any progress has been made in giving effect to its recommendations especially in relation to (a) leadership and staffing at the Family, Child and Welfare Unit, (b) the allocation of staff to the Khayelitsha Police Station, (c) the release of monthly crime statistics, (d) the development of a new police station at Makhaza and (e) backlogs at the National Chemical Laboratory; if not, why not; if so what are the relevant details?
Reply:
a) The Commander of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS), including four other members were dismissed in December 2016. Subsequently, Lieutenant Colonel Tantsi has been appointed as the Acting Unit Commander. The post will shortly be advertised, for the appointment of a permanent unit commander.
- In August 2012, the personnel strength of the FCS Unit comprised 16 members, while in August 2017, it comprised 15 members.
b) The comparative staff allocation at Khayelitsha Police Station is as follows:
- August 2012, the police station was allocated 310 members.
- August 2017, the police station was allocated 324 members.
c) The policy that was approved by the South African Police Service (SAPS), in 2003, “Release of Crime Statistics: Department of Safety and Security” directs that crime statistics will be released annually. The policy states that, “A fully analysed and contextualised report on recorded crime in South Africa, including inter alia, the national, provincial and area statistics, will only be released and placed on the SAPS’s website, annually (once a year). Prior to its public release, the report will be presented to Cabinet, to inform the latter about its contents. Cabinet will then approve the release of the crime statistics to the public.
However, in 2016, the SAPS approached Cabinet to obtain approval for the release of crime statistics, on a quarterly basis. The process which is followed when releasing quarterly crime statistics, remains the same, i.e. Cabinet approves of the crime statistics to the public.
The SAPS does not intend to release monthly crime statistics, as this would have to be approved by Cabinet.
d) The clearance phase for the Makhaza (Khayelitsha) site, has been completed. The planning and design phase will be completed in the 2018/2019 financial year. Construction will commence and should be finalised within the 2022/2023 financial year.
e) The number of backlog case entries (exhibits), registered but not yet finalised, exceeding the prescribed timeframe at the end of August 2017, nationally is 1 872 of 43 251 entries.
It needs to be noted that, blood alcohol and other relevant toxicology-related analyses, are performed by the Department of Health and are therefore, not included in the above statistics.