• The name of the current Act does not encompass all other components of safety and security such as the Secretariat for Safety and Security(the Secretariat) and the Independent Complaints Directorate.(ICD);
• The South African Police Service (SAPS) is commonly but referred to as a department and not as a component within the Department of Safety and Security (the department)
• The Act is not in line with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the Constitution) and other pieces of legislation such as the Public Finance Management Act, 29 of 1999(the PFMA) and the Employment Equity Act, 1998; and
• The structure and content of the current Act need to be revised.

• The preamble still refers to the Interim Constitution ,1993 (the Interim Constitution) whilst there is final a constitution in place;
• The preamble makes no mention of the Secretariat and the ICD ;
• The preamble is not in line with the contents of other policy papers such as the National Crime Prevention Strategy ( NCPS) and the White Paper on Safety and Security, 1998 (White Paper)

• As the preamble serves no interpretative value, it be deleted; and
• If the preamble is retained, it be harmonized with the Constitution and be phrased to reflect an integrated professional approach to matters of safety and security in the country

• That the preamble be harmonized with the Constitution and be phrased to reflect all components within the department as well as an integrated and coordinated approach in the delivery of safety and security service to all our people

This chapter deals with definitions

• Definitions will be dealt with after the provisions of the envisaged Act have been finally drafted.

This chapter deals with Ministerial Services

• The Secretariat is expected by the Constitution to function under the direction of the Cabinet member responsible for policing;
• The Public Service Act, 1994 identifies the National Commissioner of the SAPS as Head of the Department of Safety and Security;
• The PFMA demands that the Head of Department must be the Accounting Officer for the department;
• This means, therefore, that the Secretariat financially accounts to the National Commissioner of the SAPS and is financially dependant on the SAPS for its functioning;
• Whether the mandate of the Secretariat should remain the same or be amended to cover such areas as police transformation, training quality assurance, police budgeting and social crime prevention;
• The mandate of the Secretariat should not be reduced to a mere Ministerial support service component in chapter 14 of the Ministerial Handbook;
• The Secretariat should be sufficiently and explicitly empowered to effectively discharge its responsibilities;
• Since policing is a national competency and the SAPS is structured to function in the national , provincial and local spheres of government and is centrally directed and coordinated, it should be considered whether or not the Secretariat, which is responsible for overseeing the Service, should not be similarly structured to ensure effective oversight of the Service throughout the three spheres of government;
• Consideration should be given to changing the name of the Secretariat to reflect its functions;
• The current Act obliges the Minister to establish the National Secretariat, but it does not itself do so . The envisaged Act must establish the National Secretariat;
• Since the Constitution requires the civilian secretariat for the police service to function under the direction of the Cabinet member responsible for policing, the discretionary powers given to the provincial governments for establishing the Provincial Secretariats must be removed and remain vested in the Cabinet member responsible for policing
• The envisaged Act must establish a clear and unambiguous relationship between the National Secretariat and Provincial Secretariats for Safety and Security (Provincial Secretariat)
• Consideration should be given to the full implementation of the recommendations of the White Paper; and
• The establishment of the Secretariat as an Organizational Component similar to the ICD should be considered, if the White Paper route is found unfavorable.

• The powers and functions of the Secretariat should be clearly and unambiguously defined in the envisaged Act;
• The National Secretariat should be established the same way as the Defence Secretariat, i.e. as recommended in the White Paper; and
• The establishment of the Secretariat as an Organizational Component similar to the ICD should be considered, an alternative.

This chapter deals with the establishment and composition of the Service

• The concept of "demilitarization" of the Service has resulted in some unintended confusion within the Service; and
• The culture of command and control, so critical for any police service, has been seriously compromised.

• The transformation of the SAPS from a police force that was almost solely responsible for the protection of the apartheid state to a police service that seeks to provide equal protection to all the citizens of the Republic, should not compromise the effective command and control of the Service.

This chapter deals with the appointment of the National Commissioner as well as Provincial Commissioners and the loss of confidence in both.

• The current Act provides for the appointment of the Provincial Commissioners(PCs) and the role of Provincial Executives in the appointment of the PCs but is silent on the role of the Provincial Executives in the appointment of Area and Station Commissioner;
• The process of appointment of any member of the Service must be seen to be objective and transparent if the image of the Service is to be restored; and
• The role of critical stakeholders such as the Secretariat, both nationally and provincially, must be clarified.

Provincial Executives must play a role in the appointment of and loss of confidence in the Area and Station Commissioners as in the case of the PC.

This chapter deals with the powers, duties and functions of both the National and Provincial Commissioners as well as members of the Service

• The duties and functions of the Service must be restricted to those outlined in the Constitution’

There is need for the envisaged Act to clearly provide for the duties and functions of the Area and Station Commanders;

• The envisaged Act must clearly and unambiguously empower provinces to participate in the determination of policing priorities in keeping with section 206 (2) of the Constitution;
• Consideration should be given to the removal of support services from the operational service to enable the Service to have a focused attention on core policing; and
• The power to determine the fixed establishment of the Service and the number as well as the grading of posts, currently vested in the National Commissioner should, in the envisaged Act, be exercised in consultation and concurrence with the Minister

• All the matters deliberated above be addressed in the envisaged Act as such.

This chapter deals with organized rime and public order policing

• The problems of organized crime in the country needs to be dealt with in a separate piece of legislation like the Organized Crime Act; and
• Public Order Policing should remain the responsibility of the Service

• The power of the President, in consultation with the Cabinet, to deploy the Public Order Policing Units must be extended to the deployment of any unit of the Service or the entire Service to any part of the country in emergency situations, in the event that the National Commissioner is unable or unwilling to do so.

This chapter deals with the establishment and composition of CPFs and Boards.

• CPFs are community-based structures
• These structures are meant, among other things to ensure democratic accountability of the Service;
• It is a contradiction of this objective to have the responsibility for the establishment of the CPFs located in the Service- a structure they are established by law to oversee; and
• The critical role of local government must be clearly spelt out in the envisaged Act.

• The establishment and funding of these structure should be a political responsibility at national level to be delegated to the provincial and local spheres of government ;
• CPF regulation should clearly guide the process of the establishment, duties and functions of these structures as well as the roles of the different spheres of government; and
• The role and function of these structures should not be limited only to policing but should also encompass the integrated and coordinated approach to crime prevention as outlined in the NCPS.

This chapter deals with the powers of the Minister to make regulations

• As a principle, the Minister must, clearly and in an unambiguous manner, be empowered to make regulations; and
• The flexibility and sustainability of Regulations depend on the extent to which the Minister is empowered to adjust and adapt the Regulations to the changing environment.

• The envisaged Act should clearly and unequivocally empower the Minister to make regulations.

This chapter deals with appointment, terms and conditions of service.

• The Service is providing an essential service;
• The civilian members of the Service must be fully regulated by the Public Service Act and be managed by civilians whilst operational members of the Service should remain regulated by the Police Act;
• Within the principle of the rule of law and without limiting the rights of any member of the Service, the SAPS cannot be regulated like any other public service department- much more stringent but appropriate regulations are needed;
• Policing is a noble profession. The remuneration of the Service will never be commensurate with the type of service they are providing. The scale, level of remuneration and benefits of members of the Service reflect the nobility of this profession.

• The regulations of the SAPS must enable the Service to function as a professional, effective and efficient police service;
• The scale, level of remuneration and benefits of members of the Service should reflect the nobility of this profession.

This chapter deals with matters relating to the ICD.

• The ICD is independent from the Service and not the Executing Authority;
• The ICD provides further assistance and advice to the Executing Authority to enable him to direct the Service;
• It would be inappropriate to have ICD reporting to any other Executing Authority other than the Cabinet member responsible for policing;
• Role clarification between the ICD and the Secretariat is necessary to avoid potential duplication; and
• Consideration should be given to having the Secretariat and the ICD merged and functioning under one accounting officer

• A political directive on the above is needed.

This chapter deals with general provisions.

Over and above the general provisions in this chapter, the following need consideration:

• There is need to harmonize the various policing agencies in the country; and
• Remuneration of policing agencies should avoid unnecessary and unhealthy competition between different units in policing;

• Differences in remuneration between different units in policing should be well considered and appropriate, avoiding the capacitating of one unit at the expense of another.

This chapter deals with municipality/metropolitan policing.

• There is need to clearly stipulate the role and functions of municipal/ metropolitan police services distinctly from those of the SAPS;
• The harmonization of remuneration and benefits of municipal and metropolitan police services with those of members of the Service is necessary also here to avoid "poaching";
• The role of municipalities/metropolitan police services should widened with emphasis on crime prevention at local level;
• The growth of the private security industry and the proliferation of private security companies is an area of concern;
• Restriction of some categories of members of securities services joining the private security industry either on retirement or at any other stage must be considered;
• Consideration should be given to the question as to whether the municipal police services as currently structured are in line with section 205 (1) of the constitution; and
• There is further need to clarify the role and functions of traditional /tribal police services.

• Political direction is needed on the above.

This deals with offences and penalties.

• Allegations of drunkenness and other elements of ill-discipline within the SAPS compromises the image of the Service;
• Appropriate and effective sanctions against this misconduct must be clearly spelt out in the envisaged Act;
• Serious attention must be paid to the killing officers by imposing a mandatory sanction on the perpetrators of this heinous act of barbarism; and
• Consideration should be given to the correctness or appropriateness of SAPS members investigating allegations of misconduct against fellow members.

• Appropriate penalties reflecting the nobility of the policing profession should be imposed upon members of the Service making themselves guilty of drunkenness and other forms of ill-discipline whilst on duty;
• All offences including allegations of misconduct by members of the Service must be investigated by the ICD- whether the ICD exist as part of the Secretariat or in terms of the present arrangement.

• This chapter deals with transitional arrangements and these can only be addressed after the main provisions of the envisaged Act have been drafted

This chapter deals with the short tittle and commencement

• The name of the envisaged Act will be considered after political direction has been given on the structure and functioning of the department.