Report
of the Portfolio Committee on Police on its oversight visit from 23-27 January and
02 February 2012 to the following Police Stations in
·
Ohrigstad Police Station
·
Sekhukhune Police Station
·
Burgersfort Police Station
·
Mankweng Police Station
·
Polokwane Police Station
TABLE OF CONTENTS |
PAGE |
|
|
1. Structure of the report |
1-2 |
2. Introduction |
2 |
3. Key observations, specific
recommendations and additional information requested |
4 |
3.1 Ohrigstad
Police Station (23 January 2012) |
4-8 |
3.2 Sekhukhune Police Station (24 January 2012) |
9-14 |
3.3 Burgersfort Police (25
January 2012) |
14-19 |
3.4 Mankweng Police Station (26 January 2012) |
19-23 |
3.5 Polokwane Police Station (02 February 2012) |
23-27 |
4. General Concerns and
Recommendations |
28-29 |
5. Outstanding matters |
30 |
The Portfolio Committee on Police having conducted an oversight visit to Ohruigstad, Sekhukhune, Burgersfort, Mankweng
and Polokwane Police Stations from 23-27 January and 02
February 2012 reports as follows:
1. STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT
This Report is divided into five sections.
Section
One: outlines the structure of the Report.
Section
Two: Introduction- outlines the objectives of the
visits, the stations visited, and the members of the delegation; and explains
the methodology used during the visits.
Section Three: Key Observations, Specific Recommendations and Additional Information requested
- records in some detail the observations of the members of the Portfolio
Committee on Police with respect to each of the police stations.
The observations in this section are organised according to station to
provide a detailed overview of the issues, problems and successes noted by the members
at each of the stations.
In addition, under each station, there is a section on additional
information requested. Timeframes were given for receipt of this information
and it is recorded in the report as to whether this information was received or
not, within the stipulated time period.
Lastly, under each station, there is a sub-section on Specific Concerns
and Recommendations which identifies a number of specific concerns and
recommendations that have been made by the Committee with respect to the
individual police station concerned.
Section Four: General Concerns and Recommendations - highlights general concerns of
the Committee emanating from the oversight visit as a whole and includes a
number of general recommendations to the Department of Police arising from
these concerns. It should be noted that these recommendations are directed to
both the National Department of Police, and the Limpopo Provincial Commissioner’s
office, and will also be taken up by the Committee in its interaction with the
Department during the budget and other oversight processes of Parliament. The
Department will be expected to respond to these concerns and recommendations.
Section Five: Outstanding issues – highlights information requested by the Committee
that is still outstanding from the Provincial office or the stations concerned.
2. INTRODUCTION
The Portfolio Committee on Police undertook an
oversight visit to the five police stations in
Objectives
of the visit
The objectives of the oversight visit to the police stations in
Delegation
Parliament
Ms LS Chikunga (ANC), Chairperson and leader of the delegation
Mr G Lekgetho (ANC)
Ms PA Mocumi (ANC)
Ms MA Molebatsi (ANC)
Mr GD Schneemann (ANC)
Ms A Van Wyk (ANC)
Ms D Kohler Barnard (DA)
Mr M Swathe (DA)
Mr L Ramatlakane
(COPE)
Ms Z Vice
(Committee Secretary)
Mr K Lobi
(Committee Assistant)
Ms N Van
Zyl-Gous (Researcher)
The delegation
was accompanied by the following officials:
South African Police Service
LT General
Mpembe - Provincial Commissioner
Major General
Ntlemeza - Deputy Provincial Commissioner
Provincial Heads
Major General
Mbhalati - Legal Services
Brig TS Kgoadi - Technology Management
Services
Brigadier E R
Uys - Finance and Administration
Brig P Morkel - Detectives
Brig F M Huma - Inspectorate
Brig L J Mashilo - Organisational Development
Brig Marais -
Supply Chain Management
Brig Seabi -
Human Resources Utilization
Brig Tlhapane -
Human Resources Development
Brig Morakaladi - Personnel Management
Brig Mulaudzi H -
Communication Services
Brig Mulaudzi A
R - Visible
policing
management
Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations
Major General
Molapo - Deputy Provincial Commissioner, Crime
Detection
Maj-Gen
Molatjana
Maj-Gen Moloko - Provincial
Head: Human Management
Maj-Gen Dladla - Physical Resources
Management
Independent Complaints Directorate
Ms Malekhopo
Sepata - Principal Investigator
Secretariat of Police
Mr S Mahote - Parliamentary Liaison Officer
The delegation
met with the station management team at each of the police stations and
relevant cluster management teams.
The Committee would like to appreciate the Provincial Commissioner and
his officials for availing themselves and accompanying the Committee throughout
the oversight visit.
Methodology
In its visit to police stations, the Committee utilises the Station
Monitoring Tool (SMT) to assist in ensuring comprehensive gathering and
interrogation of information. The SMT is designed to ensure that members cover
a wide range of issues during the visit - ranging from information on
management of the stations, capacity of detectives, human and physical
resources, and implementation of prioritised legislation, including the
Domestic Violence Act No. 116 of 1998, the Firearms Control Act, No. 60 of 2000
and the Child Justice Act, No. 75 of 2008. The Committee also meets with interest
groups, including members of the Community Police Forum (CPF) and the unions.
The Committee is divided into groups during the visit and each group is
responsible for monitoring, observing and gathering information on specific
areas. The Committee thereafter meets together with the management of the
station to discuss these observations and findings in detail.
3. KEY OBSERVATIONS, SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION REQUESTED
3.1 OHRIGSTAD POLICE STATION (23 January
2012)
Rating: For the third quarter of 2011/12, the Ohrigstad police station had a
rating of B (75.19%) with a grading of four stars. It was ranked 25th
in the
According to the Station Commander, Colonel Mashigo, the following were
the key challenges faced by the station:
3.1.1 KEY OBSERVATIONS
Management: The Station
Commander is a Captain and had been at the station for 22 months. She had not signed the performance agreement
and the copy of it was not available. The station serves a population of about 3500
and it consists of formal residential and rural areas.
There was one
cleaner at the station, and the Provincial Commissioner indicated that the
issue of cleaning staff was a national challenge which needed to be addressed.
The station had
not had student constables in the past five years.
Community Service Centre
(CSC): The station was clearly marked and was accessible
by wheelchair. The CSC was clean and the
manager was doing good work, but circulars from the Head Office were not
properly filed/arranged. Some contained old information and needed to be
removed from the notice board. Documents were properly kept, but management
signed documents without checking whether the information was correct. There was no follow up done on problems that were
identified in the documents during checking by managers.
The national hotline was not displayed.
Firearm Safes: The safe was very disorganised and dirty. A firearm, which according to the Register
was meant to be in the safe, was missing and management mentioned that a SAPS
member responsible for returning it had been disciplined and was now working in
another police station. It was clear
that SAPS members were taking out firearms but not necessarily signing these out
or back in.
Designated Police Officer
(DPO): Firearm licences and competency certificates
that people had applied for and which had been issued were lying around, and the
excuse given was that it was difficult to contact the applicants as most of
them had changed their contact numbers.
Discipline: The Committee noticed that SAPS members did not stand up on arrival
of the SAPS Provincial Leadership together with Portfolio Committee members. The Committee emphasized that that was unacceptable and was a clear
indication of lack of discipline amongst SAPS members.
There was a high rate of absenteeism at the station. Members were abusing sick leave and rest
days. The Station Commander mentioned
that station orders regarding absenteeism had been drafted in order to manage
the problem. Members would have to
report to her if they were sick and not to the CSC anymore.
Community Police Forum
(CPF): There is a good relationship between the CPF
and the station. There was a contradiction in information given relating to the
frequency of meetings. The CPF said
meetings were held on a quarterly basis and the Station Commander said they
were held every two months. This was
also a case with the AGM - the Station Commander said the last one was held in
2009 and the CPF said it was held in 2008.
The CPF mentioned that they had not attended any form of training, but
the Station Commander said that they had. It was mentioned that there was a racial issue
regarding the activities of the CPF. The
CPF relied on the support of the station and a local farmer. There was no neighbourhood watch. There were no complaints from the community. There was a challenge with using phones, as
the area sometimes lost the network.
Unions: The Station Commander said that there was a good relationship between
the station and the two unions – Sapu and Popcru. The Committee only managed to interview a
Sapu representative, because the Popcru one was in court. The union complained that a certain Warrant
Officer had been promoted to a lieutenant position without a proper procedure
being followed.
The following information (highlighted) was provided to the Committee on
23 April 2012:
(The warrant
officer referred to was promoted together with other warrant officers in the
SAPS country wide in a mass promotion (Warrant Officer to Lieutenant) after
having realised that they met the promotion requirements a set out nationally
and he did not have any pending criminal or departmental trials. His promotion
is therefore in order and proper).
Vehicles: The vehicles that were inspected were very
dirty inside. There was a vehicle that had reached 300 000
kilometres. The typist indicated that
there were enough vehicles at the station.
The AVL system was managed at a provincial level. The Station Commander did not have authority
to drive state vehicles. The station was
going to receive four vehicles – two for detectives (a sedan and a 4X4), one
high performance vehicle and one Nissan 4X4.
There was one
vehicle that had been involved in an accident and was at the garage, and one
was going to be boarded.
The following information (highlighted) was provided to the Committee on
23 April 2012:
(The Station received four
vehicles)
1 x sedan for detectives
1 x 4x4 double cab for
detectives
1 x
sedan for uniform
1 x 4x4
for uniform
Detectives: The Branch Commander had served at the station in this capacity for a
period of two years. There were four detectives at the station, excluding
civilian personnel. There was no private room to take statements,
instead detectives use their offices for interviews. The Committee emphasised
that this was wrong.
One of the detectives’ offices had a burglar-proof door that did not
have a key. There was a set of drawers
that was locked and could not open.
Detectives said that it had not been opened for the past three months
and there was nothing inside. But once it was opened, evidence and unprocessed fingerprint
forms were discovered.
The Committee
was of the view that the Branch Commander, who is a Warrant Officer, was not in
control of the detectives. This was difficult for the Committee to understand
as the station had only four detectives.
Only one
detective had attended the basic detective training course. Training of detectives needs attention and is
paramount to attaining good detection rates. Each detective had a maximum of 25
dockets, which was far below the national standard.
Some of the detective’s documents were stored next to the holding cells. This was a concern.
The e-docket system had been installed in 2009. When the Committee asked for a scanned
docket, it did not show the details of the detective who was working with
it. New developments on the docket had
not been updated on the system.
Members were concerned about the relatively low conviction rates at the
station. The Committee was of the view
that detection and conviction rates were not correlating.
On inspection, the members walked into an unlocked and unoccupied office
and found dockets strewn on the desks, easily accessible for anyone to take. On
opening the cabinets, it was clear than none of the three SAPS detectives occupying
that office were filing properly and dockets were lying haphazardly on the
shelves. There was no strongroom and
windows did not have burglar guards.
Family Violence, Child
Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit: The
station does not have a FCS unit, but a particular mining company had donated a
park home that was going to be delivered the following day if it did not rain. Only two FCS members had been trained in DVA. The Committee was concerned with the fact that
not all shifts had a woman on duty. It
was said that if rape victims were to come to the station, the typist would be
called. It was reported that there had
been no rape cases in the area, and the Committee felt that there was a room to
be cautiously optimistic.
Cells: There are four holding cells at the station with a capacity to keep 10
detainees. At the time of the visit,
there were no detainees, and the reason given was that they had been taken to
Leboweng because there was no running water in the cells. This had happened three weeks before, and
Leboweng was about 90 km from Ohrigstad.
There was no officer dedicated to look after the cells. There were two normal
cells and two double cells. In one cell the toilet was not flushing, and another
one had no water tap. The Committee was
told that a plumber had been called the previous day but did not come.
The Committee was told that the station hardly had female detainees and
did not keep minors in the cells.
The cell register reflected that the last arrest had taken place on 29
December 2011, which was more than three weeks before the visit. There had been eight arrests up to 29
December 2011 and no further arrest until 09 January 2012. The long outstanding cases had been sent to
Nelspruit.
Archives: The Station did not have archives but used the registry office to store
the dockets. The docket the Committee
asked for could not be located. The
Committee was told that the station had an e-docket register, but that was not
the case. There was no control of the
computers containing the e-docket system - everybody had access. The Committee wanted to compare the
information on the e-docket with the original one, but the docket had not been properly
scanned and a few pages were missing. Another docket could not be scanned because it
was written in red pen. Such a docket
could be lost without trace.
SAPS 13 Store: The SAPS 13 Store was in a good condition and very neat. The personnel knew where everything was
stored. There were no rape kits lying
around. There was a separate register
for firearms. Exhibit firearms were kept
with SAPS ones, this should not be the case, but the Committee was satisfied
that they were kept in a safe area. There
were 22 exhibit firearms and there were no amnesty ones. There were no drugs, and the Committee was
told that the station sends them to the forensic laboratory as soon as they
receive them. There was cash in the
store. The last auction had been held in
October 2011.
Sector policing: Sector policing was
established but was not functional, and this was attributed to fact that some
stations in the province did not understand how the sector policing operated.
3.1.2 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTED
Additional information that was requested from the station management
was received before the visit was concluded:
3.1.3 SPECIFIC FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The following are the key positive findings of the Committee:
·
The Community commended the
Station Commander for building a good relationship between the station and the
community.
·
There is a positive
relationship between the CPF and the station.
·
The cells were in a good
condition, although there were no detainees at the time of the visit.
·
Section 13 stores were in
good condition.
The following
members were commended by the Committee for doing good work:
· Ms Irene
Monashani (typist) for knowledge of Human Resources at the station.
· Ms Alowani Mudou
(Councillor) for services rendered to the station.
·
Ms Beedge
for organization of Section 13 Store.
The following are the key concerns of the Committee:
·
The Committee was very
concerned about the distance of the police station from the residential
areas. It was of the view that that
contributed to under-reporting of crime.
·
The Committee noted the
need for interviewing rooms.
The following are the key recommendations of the Committee:
It is recommended that the National Commissioner should ensure that:
·
the Provincial Commissioner
addresses the problem of lack of discipline among the SAPS members;
·
sector policing be
established as a matter of urgency, as it was not possible to police a 896
square kilometre area without sectors; and
·
the issue of cleaners be
attended to as it was wrong to expect police members to clean the station.
·
To ensure that detectives
had interviewing rooms.
3.2 SEKHUKHUNE POLICE
STATION (24 JANUARY 2012)
Rating: For the third quarter of 2011/12 Sekhukhune police station had a rating
of 72.99% (Grade B) - with a grading of four
stars. It was ranked 34th in the
The Station Commander, Lt. Colonel Seroka noted the following:
·
The station served an area
of about 2000 square kilometres and a population of about 97 000.
·
It policed 57 villages.
·
The station was not an
accounting station.
·
The accounting station was Lebowakgomo
Police Station and they had a good relationship.
·
There was a shortage of
offices and a need for renovation of the station.
3.2.1 KEY OBSERVATIONS
Management: The Station
Commander had been at the station for nine months. The station had seven
student constables. The station had
established an aerobics team and road-running was done once a month.
The average reaction time was 27 minutes. Full management meetings were held every two
months. The Station Commander met twice
a week with detectives, and once a month with the rest of the members. A station Crime Combating Forum had been
established. The station did not have
enough 4X4’s despite the fact that the terrain of the area required these.
Community Service Centre: The closest sign showing the
direction of the police station was at a distance of five kilometres. The station was close to a taxi rank.
The CSC was overpopulated - more space was
needed. The computers and a printer were
not working. There were no crime-intelligence personnel at the station.
The notice board had valuable information.
There was no bail conditions register.
There was a
serious lack of management in terms of checking whether the information on the documentation
and/or registers was correct, and no action was taken when irregularities were
found.
Firearms safe: The firearms-safe was
clean and there were few firearms kept at the police station. However, the registers
were not kept properly and entries of firearms in the Firearms Register were
inconsistent. Some were registered as if they had been booked out although they
were available, and vice versa. Anyone
seemed to have access to the safe keys and could make an entry if they so desired. The key to the safe was readily available. No
action was taken against persons who did not record properly, and the register was
not checked daily by a senior person. The Committee was concerned about this.
Designated Police Officer
(DPO): There was a DPO at the station but he could not
satisfy the Committee as to what he did after finishing processing the firearm
applications he had received on a daily basis.
The DPO did not have his own vehicle, but the station said that it had
been ordered and was ready for collection.
The Committee was of the view that the DPO’s job description needed to
be reviewed.
The following information (highlighted) was provided to the Committee on
23 April 2012:
(A vehicle was eventually allocated to the DPO. His job description was reviewed and his
duties and performance is monitored daily by the Vispol Commander)
Discipline: There was a
general problem with absenteeism at the station. Most reported absenteeism was during
month-end and night shifts. The highest
absenteeism was reflected in June and July. The explanation provided by the Province was
that, during these months, members took leave because, if they did not do so,
they would forfeit the previous year’s leave days. Sick leave was found to be
severely abused.
Only three disciplinary cases were under
investigation. One of misconduct was
still pending.
Training: Out of
93 police officers, only fourteen had attended shooting courses/practice,
and management did not give answers promptly in this regard. The shooting course was attended once in five
years. The station had applied for an
indoor shooting range.
There were still a lot of courses that
management needed to ensure were attended.
Family Violence, Child
Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit:
The station had a very good and clean VEP. It had started operating in 2006 and was
established through SAPS’ tea club.
Sometimes it received donations from the United Nations through a
service plan. The staff complement consisted
of a manager, a co-ordinator, a finance officer and seven carers. People working there were all volunteers who
did not get a stipend. The volunteers assist an average of two victims per
day.
DVA
The DVA register was a mess, and the Province was asked to rectify it
before the Committee completed the visit.
Vehicles: Vehicle management was generally
good and information in the log books was properly filled in. Four police officers did not have drivers’
licences. There was a general abuse of vehicles for private use, and the AVL system was not properly
implemented at the station.
There
was a shortage of handcuffs and no reason was given for
this.
Unions: Both POPCRU and SAPU mentioned that the
relationship with the station was good.
Community
Policing Forum: The CPF had a good relationship with the management of the station. It
further mentioned that there were a lot of complaints about police assaulting
people. The community complained about
people being arrested and released. The
CPF mentioned that a stipend for the CPF members should be considered.
SAPS 13 Store: The SAPS 13 Store was properly kept.
The number of firearms corresponded with the number that was given to
the Committee. There was a problem of
money being kept at the station for too long. There was no proof of money received from the
auction.
Archives: The Archives were also very well run and the officer in charge was
trying hard.
Cells: The cells at the station were in a horrible state. There were 37 detainees in the cells and some
had been there for more than ten months.
The Committee found ropes inside the cells. It was clear that the cells were not
monitored. The court register was not
properly signed and controlled.
Detainees were badly treated by officers. One had been assaulted by other detainees,
and had a bleeding ear, but was not taken to a clinic or given medication. On observation, the Committee found out that
the detainee was mentally retarded. Some
detainees were under the influence of drugs.
Two detainees had been assaulted by police and the Committee recommended
that the ICD should investigate those cases on that particular day. There was a
very old man in the cells charged with malicious damage to property. A 17 year old had also been detained at the
station and the Committee emphasized that that was very wrong, as the detainee
was still a minor and was not supposed to be at the police station. Another detainee had been told to clean the
floors before he could be allowed to make a phone call.
A loaf of bread and coca-cola were found in the cells. The Committee was very concerned about this,
as bread could be used to smuggle drugs.
The Committee felt that the police station should be closed down because
of conditions in the cells. The only
positive thing about the cells was that all the locks were working. Other than
that, everything was in a very bad state.
The following information (highlighted) was provided to the Committee on
23 April 2012:
(The detainee that had a bleeding ear was taken to
The cells were searched on the same day, however, no drugs were found.
ICD investigated the allegations of assault of the detainees and again
recommended that no criminal or disciplinary steps should be taken due to
conflicting statements received from complainants and fellow inmates.
Mr Ezekiel Kgomo is a 17 year old that was found in the cells, he had
committed malicious damage to property and was released from custody by the
court. He could not be granted bail due
to the amount of damage (R10 000) he had caused. He was kept in the police cells because he
was awaiting a probation officer who was going to assess him. The probation officer came a day after the
Committee’s visit and he was released in terms of Child Justice Act after assessment
by the probation officer).
Detectives:
The detectives’ register had not been inspected by the
police station nor the province. The oldest detective was 47 years old and the
youngest was 27 years old. The station
needed four more detectives. The
detectives had two opportunities per annum to attend courses.
The station did not have a strongroom to keep
dockets. Members had to share cabinets
to file documents. In total, the
detectives were working on 1172 dockets.
The minimum dockets per detective were 70. Rape cases were investigated at the CSC and
this was a concern for the Committee. The
conviction rate for rape was 0%, although the area had a high prevalence of rape and 39% of rape cases were unresolved. This was totally unacceptable to the Committee. The conviction rate for murder was 10%. All
the old dockets were of rape cases and the oldest was for a 2008 case.
A member of a
task team had taken home 37 dockets that were subsequently burned by the
members’ wife in an alleged domestic dispute. Only the wife was charged in this
incident. The Committee indicated that
they suspected foul play and recommended that a possible criminal case ought to
be investigated against the member. The Province committed to ensure that
action was taken against the member.
The following information (highlighted) was provided to the Committee on
23 April 2012:
(The CSC
members were instructed to stop investigating rape cases but to secure crime
scenes where necessary. The cases are
now investigated by FCS at Lebowakgomo and CSC members effect arrests of
suspects).
MEETING WITH THE COMMUNITY
The following issues were raised by the Community:
3.2.2 ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION REQUESTED
The provincial office was asked:
The following information (highlighted) was provided to the Committee on
23 April 2012:
(In regard to issues raised
with the community, this office would like to reflect the following:-
Follow up meeting was
arranged and conducted by the Provincial management as directed.
The renovation of the station
was done however the building of the new police station is not done
Nine vehicles were allocated
to the station and these include 5 x 4x4, 1 truck for prisoners, 2 x 4x2 and 1
x sedan
Investigation into the
allegation of police officials owning liquor outlets was conducted and it was
established that no police officer is owning a liquor outlet. The suspicion
aroused due to the fact that one police official is drinking liquor at one of
the liquor outlets and they suspected that he is the owner.
Stock theft complaints were
attended to and feedback was given to the complainants and stock owners,
thereafter a stock theft forum was established
A register was opened to
ensure that all reports relating to suspected stolen vehicles can be recorded
and attended to immediately.
Roads in the area were
re-graded by the municipality however the municipality could not de-bush an
area next to the dongas or construct a bridge for school-going children due to
financial constraints on their part).
(Investigation was conducted, no police officer owns a
tavern)
3.2.3 SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
The following are the key positive findings of the Committee:
·
The victim-support centre
was in a good condition and the counsellors were well-informed.
The following were commended by the Committee for doing good work at the
VEP:
Sekele CM
Chewe NA
Kgoga ME
Seepe LM
Metsana MO
Mmotla TE
Mawela MC
Ratau MV
Hanyane PT
Maota ML
Mokgwadi NR
Constable Timo – for managing the vehicles well.
Section 13 stores were well kept by Mr L T Modiba.
Archives were well kept by Ms K K Mohlala.
The following are the key concerns of the Committee:
The following are the key recommendations of the Committee:
The Minister should ensure that:
·
detectives undergo the relevant and necessary
training, as this would help to improve the conviction rate;
·
the Province should meet
with the prosecutors to raise the issue of their taking too long to decide on
cases, as raised by the station management;
·
the Province should meet
with their counterparts at Correctional Services to discuss the issue of
convicted prisoners being sent back to police cells.
3.3 BURGERSFORT POLICE STATION (25 JANUARY 2012)
(UNANNOUNCED VISIT)
This was unannounced visit; therefore, no formal presentation was
prepared by the station.
The Station Commander, Lt Colonel Mosena highlighted the following:
3.3.1 KEY OBSERVATIONS
Management: The Station Commander had been at the station
for two years and he knew the area very well.
He did not, however, know the crime profile of the area. He mentioned that there was a lack of a filing
system at the station; hence, the documents were not in order. The Committee felt that the station commander
needed administrative assistance even though his rank did not allow for such.
Community Service Centre: The police station was clearly marked and there was a board showing the
direction of the station. It was
accessible to persons with disabilities.
A constable, who was responsible for the CSC, had colour coded the crime
patterns, but other officers working there did not know what this meant.
The Committee found money and suspects’ clothes at the CSC.
Satellite Police Station: The contact point was about
47 kms from the police station. There
was no sign indicating the direction of the contact point. It was in a bad condition – the roof was
leaking and the Committee was told that this was a problem during the rainy
season. Filing was done in pigeon-holes
that were soiled in water. The caravan
was privately owned.
Barracks: The station had
barracks, but they were in a horrible condition. They were prefabs and had many holes. The rooms were extremely hot and there was no
security. The place was used by males
only and they were paying R250.00 per month in rent. Walls were stained and showers were filthy. This needed urgent attention. The Committee was concerned about the use of
the money while the condition of the barracks was that bad.
(Quotations were
obtained for the renovation of the barracks and the R250pm rental fee is paid
in accordance with the policy for accommodation, water and electricity).
Unions: There was a good relationship between management and the unions. Popcru
mentioned that the station needed 20 extra personnel because the crime rate was
increasing. Most police officers were
not from the area and had to rent the places where they stay. This posed a
security risk.
Community Police Forum: The CPF was functional; although
it had not been functional five years previously. There was a good relationship
between the CPF and the station. The meetings were conducted once a month and
were well attended.
Firearms Safe: The safe was full of offenders’ clothing that was packed in old envelopes
having only names but no case numbers.
There was a lot of money for bail that was paid at the CSC. The key was not properly controlled. The
trainee constables were booking firearms in and out for themselves without
supervision. The way the firearms were
handled was very chaotic.
Designated Police Official: The station had an active DPO, but he did not have a designated
vehicle. A total of 44 applications for new firearm
licences had been received and the average waiting-time was three to six
months. A total of 172 firearm licences had not been delivered, including 58
competency certificates. The nearest
shooting range was in Nelspruit and Upington, which was about 300 kms from the
station.
Vehicles: The Committee was told that the station had 45 vehicles, but the RAG
could not be confirmed. Ten vehicles
were inspected and only one was clean; the rest were filthy. Dirty plates, cool-drink cans and papers were
found inside vehicles. Most of the
vehicles had cracked windscreens, including the one that was at the contact
point. Fresh blood had been spilled
inside a vehicle with a registration number BRT 534 L. Another vehicle did not
have a key for the petrol tank. The
Station Commander did not know how to operate the AVL system and only a senior
admin clerk could. He, however, was on
leave and would only be back on 06 February 2012.
A total of 59 out of 77 members had authority to drive state vehicles.
As the area was mountainous, members walked to reach some areas. There were
allegations that there were members who had bought their driver’ licences and
could not even put keys inside the ignition.
Some vehicles had expired licence discs.
When the Committee asked some police members to show their drivers’
licences, they disappeared.
Sector policing: The area had five sectors and
only four were reported to be functional.
Discipline: A contributing problem to high level of absenteeism might be the fact that
morale of members at the station was low.
Members at the station did not have respect for their seniors. The Committee attributed this to the
complaints that certain people were promoted although they did not deserve
promotions. There was a member who had
only a standard eight as a qualification, but he was promoted, while a black woman member who had a masters’ degree
was reporting to him. There was also a member who was being counselled for
absenteeism, and the Committee expressed its dismay at this.
There were three cases of police being involved in the theft of diesel
from the mines. There was a case of an
admin. clerk who wrote out a cheque of R2 000 for herself using the station’s
cheque book. There was also a case of
two members who stole crates of fruit.
The Committee was appalled to hear that none of the officers who were
involved in the above-mentioned cases had been expelled; some were only fined. The
Station Commander was also under investigation for the misuse of a state
vehicle, and his case was dealt with by the Province.
There was a serious abuse of sick leave at the station, and the
Committee had noticed that there were four members who were always sick. The Committee also noticed the trend that
there were two doctors who always issued sick-leave certificates to the members
of the station.
A typist had
lodged a grievance in 2008/9, and this was not properly attended to. The grievance
related to an acting allowance and promotion to the head of the human resources
management.
The following information (highlighted) was provided to the Committee on
31 May 2012:
OUTCOME OF CRIMINAL AND DEPARTMENTAL HEARINGS OF BURGERSFORT
MEMBERS
1. With
reference to the above, members were charged both criminally and departmentally
and the results are as follows:‑
1.1 No.
7033949‑1 Admin Clerk Dikana
Lebowakgomo Cas 547/03/2009
fraud was reported on the 30/03/2009,
The investigation is finalized and case docket was sent to DPP for decision.
1.2 No.
0639253‑9 W/O P C Phelane Burgersfort Cas 69/12/2008 possession of stolen
property was reported on 06/12/2008 member was found not guilty and discharged
on the 11/08/2009, he was issued with a written warning on 08/07/2010 .
1.3
No.620753‑7
W/O Magabane MD Burgersfort Cas 131/09/2010 theft of Diesel was reported on the 12/09/2010, the
case is still under investigation by the Hawks W/O Simango, the disciplinary
case against the member was withdrawn because the witness could not be traced,
the information is that he went back to Zimbambwe.
Cells: The station had ten cells, but four had not been used for years. The
gate at the entrance to the cells could not lock from the inside. This meant that when one of the officers
visited the cells, the gate was left opened.
The cameras in front of the cells were not working. The Committee
visited the station on a Wednesday and the OB book reflected that the cells had
last been visited the previous Saturday morning and at 17h00 when food was
brought to the detainees. No names were
written on the OB book to indicate who had visited the cells.
The cells were very dirty and needed to be painted. The Committee was told that the last time
they were painted had been in 2007. A
lot of liquor was stored in one of the cells.
One cell was so dirty that grass and weeds grew inside it.
Shoe-laces were found inside the cells.
In some of the cells, showers were leaking and doors were not
working. Most detainees had been in the
cells for longer than was required. A lot of medication and shoe-laces were
found in the cells.
Mr Thabo Ngobeni had been in the cells for 16 months. Mr John Mnise had been detained since August
2011 and was very sick, vomiting blood; yet had not been taken to
hospital. A detainee, who was a foreign
national, had been brutally assaulted by police. Some had been denied opportunities to make
phone calls. The ICD was called in to
take statements and to ensure that the sick and assaulted detainees were taken
to hospital.
The fire extinguisher had last been inspected in 2010.
Detectives:
The detectives did not have sufficient interview rooms
and used another police station for that purpose. The station had ten detectives and two were
used for cluster-related cases. The
station needed four more detectives in order to operate maximally. The average number of years of experience of
the detectives at the station was 15.
The Branch Commander indicated that she was not happy with the
experience levels of detectives at the station.
The youngest detective was 26 years old and the
eldest was 50 years old. Only four
detectives had completed the full detective training course. Six had not been trained even in basic
training. The station offered only one
training opportunity per year. Ten
dockets had been lost but were recovered.
It was not clear what was done to those who had been implicated in the
loss of dockets.
Members noted that there were a large amount of dockets on detectives’
desks and commented that no person can work on thirty or more dockets at once.
Thus, concern was raised towards the improper storage of case dockets and that
the threat that someone might walk past and swipe one or more of the dockets
existed. The caseload of dockets at the time of the visit
was 850. The smallest caseload per
detective was 53, and the highest was 143.
The oldest docket that was still open, was for theft of a motor vehicle
in 2003. The detection rate on rape was
66.67%, murder 36.86%, house robberies 72.73%, business robberies 76.92% and
assault GBH was 85.71%. The station
could not provide the conviction rate. The
station had experienced problems with incorrectly formulated charges and poor
statement-taking. The problems were
being addressed through workshops that were taking place at the time of the
visit.
The station had lock-up filing cabinets,
although they were not enough. There was
no strongroom and burglar-proofing on doors.
The court register had not been properly signed. The Branch Commander said that she inspected
the dockets once a month. The unit had
two vehicles.
Relationship
with other role-players in the CJS: The
station was in the process of organising a forum where regular meetings would
be conducted on a monthly basis.
FCS: The station did not have a VEP centre and used an office to counsel
victims. There were trained SAPS members
to deal with abuse and rape victims, and there was a female member on duty at
all times. There was a DVA register, but
it needed to be properly completed. The
station only recorded the domestic violence cases where a protection order was
issued. This needed to be rectified, as
it affected the statistics on domestic violence. A member that was asked about
the contents of the DVA did not know it.
SAPS 13 Stores:
·
Firearms
Firearms were kept together with other exhibits. After
counting the firearms the Committee discovered that there were five extra
firearms that were in the store.
The general stores were found in a terrible state. Exhibits did not have evidence tags. There was no report on the auction that the
Committee was told had taken place. There
was a lot of liquor, and it was scattered all over the place. The exhibit that
the Committee asked for could not be found. The Committee learnt that the member who was
responsible for the stores had recently been promoted. This was questioned because of the state that
the stores were in.
Archives: The archives were in total chaos.
There was no archive register.
3.3.2 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTED
The following additional information was requested from the provincial
management during the visit:
3.3.3 SPECIFIC CONCERNS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The following are the key positive findings of the Committee:
The following are the key concerns of the Committee:
·
The station commander said
there was a functional CPF, but the Committee later learnt that the CPF had collapsed
five years previously, as members of the station had felt that it was
irrelevant.
·
The Committee was shocked
to hear that police officers who were supposed to protect the community’s
property were the ones who were stealing from them.
·
There was no register for
public complaints.
·
There was no crime
intelligence officer at the station.
·
Most training courses were attended but only by few
officers.
·
Non-performing members and members without relevant
qualifications had been promoted.
The following are the key recommendations of the Committee:
The Committee recommends that the National Commissioner should ensure
that:
·
the province and the
cluster should be held responsible for the fact that the police station was
completely dysfunctional;
·
the station commander
should be removed and a care-taker manager be appointed to manage the station;
·
a proper plan of
performance assessment should be drawn up in order to remove non-performers;
·
disciplinary steps are
taken against the members who have been involved in theft and corruption, and
also against those who have been involved in the loss dockets; and
·
members of the station are trained
in the use of records.
·
members who were
responsible for promoting non-performing members must be made to account.
3.4 MANKWENG POLICE STATION (26 JANUARY 2012)
Rating: For the third quarter of 2011/12, Mankweng police station had a rating
of 68.51%, Grade C+, with a grading of four
stars. It was ranked 59th in the Limpopo Province out of 92 stations
and ranked 470 nationally.
3.4.1 KEY OBSERVATIONS
Management: The station had been operating from park homes since its inception in
1985. It was on the list of stations
that were going to be built, but the Station Commander was not sure when that
would take place. The station had an
Acting Station Commander, Brigadier Seopa.
He had been acting for the past six months, because the Station
Commander was under investigation. He
had completed the station-management learning programme. There was a shortage of
office space at the station. There were two
cleaners at the station and 98 reservists. The RAG of personnel at the station
was 301, but the actual number was 269. The station was not an accounting station. It had four contact points.
All officers at the station had been taken for trauma counselling when
there was a shooting at the station.
Community Service Centre: The police station was clearly marked and there was a board showing the
direction to the station. The station
was clean and in good condition. There
was a bail-conditions register and bail receipt book. The admission of guilt file was not
consistent. Only 10 out of 215 police
officers had done the DVA five-day course. Only one member had been trained on
DVA in the previous year, and only 21 members had received training in the past
year.
The OB clerk was
a police officer who was appointed on a daily basis to make entries in the OB
book. Members who were responsible for
those occurrences were not signing the OB book.
The Committee mentioned that that should be corrected.
Two constables
at the CSC did not know the station orders on DVA nor the meaning of economic
abuse.
Firearm Safe: The safe was clean and the firearms
were handled well. The officers
responsible for it could account for firearms that were booked out. One officer at the station did not know the
Firearms Control Act. A student
constable, who was not issued a firearm, was the person receiving them, and the
committee felt that this was wrong.
Designated Police Official: The station had a designated police official who had no access to the
DVA register. About 172 firearm licences
had not been delivered. The DPO had a
designated vehicle.
Community Police Forum: The station had a functional
CPF. The CPF mentioned that they were
faced with the challenge of being viewed negatively by some police
officers. At some stage, they had received
threatening phone calls from SAPS members.
They did not receive feedback on reported cases. They said that the relationship with the
station had improved since the new station commander and branch commander had
assumed duty.
They complained about not having transport to attend sector
meetings. They also needed reflector
jackets. When there were problems within
the community, the police officers just come to their houses to fetch them
without phoning beforehand. The last AGM
had been held in November 2010.
FCS: The station had a VEP that was operated by volunteers
and trained SAPS members. There was a
DVA register at the station. The last
entry in the register was on 17 January 2012.
There was a copy of the DVA, national instructions, regulations, station
orders and the list of organisations and services. There was a copy of the
Child Justice Act and the National Instructions.
The station had registered all the domestic violence cases but indicated
that most people went to court first and returned to the station with
protection orders. The DVA register was
clearly recorded, but the station waited for protection orders before filling
in all the necessary information. The
Provincial Commissioner promised that a workshop dealing with the DVA and the
issues around the protection orders would be organised. The ICD and prosecutors would be invited to
the workshop.
Unions: The station had a good
relationship with the unions. Both SAPU
and POPCRU complained about the type of vehicles used at the station were not
suitable for the terrain. The unions
mentioned that the members were disillusioned owing to the flawed promotion
policy. There was a ‘free’ promotion
policy for certain people. They
mentioned that there was a certain captain who came from Polokwane for a
position as a lieutenant, and, after a few months, he went back to
Polokwane. They said that that was not
acceptable, because a person had to spend at least two years at a station where
he had received a promotion.
The following information (highlighted) was provided to the Committee on
23 April 2012:
(In relation to the officer who was moved from
Mankweng to Polokwane, It is reported that the officer was transferred back to
Mankweng and this was also confirmed by the station).
Discipline: There was a general problem
with absenteeism at the station. The
month of June reflected the highest absenteeism rate. There was also a problem with the way the
station captured its crime statistics.
Members were instructed to record three cases of assault per day; if there
were more cases than that, they were told to report them on the following day.
There were 25 cases of misconduct that had been initiated during the
past financial year and two of fraud/corruption. Some police officers at the
station were accused of extorting liquor and letting the detainee walk free.
Sector policing: The area had five sectors. In
sector five, there was a problem of a fight within the community over
chieftainship. Sector meetings were held on a monthly basis. The area was planning to increase the sectors
to eight.
Training: There were two field-training
officers at the station. Their ranks
were captain and warrant officer. There were twelve student constables at the
station and they had their own firearms when they commenced duty. It was reported that student constables were
no longer bringing their portfolios and were not allocated to detective
services.
Vehicles: There was a shortage of
vehicles at the station, and the vehicles that were currently in use were not
suitable for the terrain surrounding the station. The station had been allocated 54 vehicles
according to the RAG, but the actual total at the station was 59. Twelve vehicles were inspected and four had
exceeded 200 000 kms. The log books were well kept, although the vehicles were
very dirty. There were tyres inside the
cars. Two licence discs had expired and
new ones were not displayed on the windscreens.
A total of 91 operational members did not possess state authority to
drive police vehicles.
Relationship with other CJS
roleplayers: The
relationship with prosecutors was tense.
This was due to the fact that they withdrew most of the drunken-driving
cases. They also sent dockets to regional court without informing the
detectives. A meeting had been held with magistrates and a follow up was in the
pipeline.
The following information (highlighted) was provided to the Committee on
23 April 2012:
(Case flow meetings are now held on monthly basis to discuss problematic
cases. There is an improvement on
prosecutor’s decisions on outstanding and current cases. Convicted prisoners and awaiting trial
detainees are now being held at Polokwane prison after intervention by the
Provincial Management).
Cells: The station had ten
cells. The cells were clean but needed
to be painted. The OB book was inspected
every two hours. All the detainees were
supposed to be in Polokwane prison and not in the station cells. The one who had been there the longest, had
been there from January 2010. The reason
given was that the prison was full. The
Committee emphasised that that was not SAPS’ problem. It was illegal to keep
convicted or awaiting trial prisoners in police cells.
Plastic bags and medication were found inside the cells, and members
were asked to remove them. There had
been one escape from the station. Two
cells were overcrowded and there was no provision for female detainees. Thirteen detainees were kept in a cell that
was supposed to house three to six detainees.
Detainees respected officers.
Some of the locks were not working properly, and the Committee was told
that this had been reported to the SCM four months previously. All inner doors in the cells were not
working.
SAPS 13 Stores:
The DPO was responsible for SAP 13 firearms. Firearms were properly tagged and
numbered. Most of them had not been sent
for ballistics tests. The doors had
small locks and this posed a serious problem.
The store was in a mess and there was no backup system. Seven park homes were used as SAP 13 stores.
None of the park homes was safe. Evidence
was not marked. There was no transfer
register. The Committee was told that
liquor was destroyed, but there was no proof of this.
Warrant Officer Malema misled the Committee saying that the doors could
be locked, although this was not the case.
Archives: The archives were well kept. The
dockets asked for were easily found.
When they became full, some items were moved to the SAP 13 stores, which
caused a mess there.
Detectives: There were 34 detectives at the station. Of these, 22 were officers and
the rest were non-commissioned officers.
The station needed ten more detectives. Cases that were closed unresolved
were 1 280. There had been 17 missing
dockets in the past three years, of which 12 were lost at court and five in the
detectives’ offices. No members had been
charged or disciplined as a result of missing dockets.
There was a shortage of vehicles at the unit and six more were required. Two detectives were allocated to a
vehicle. Detectives were working on 2 892
cases and there was an average of 60 cases per detective. The smallest caseload consisted of 14 cases. These were serious cases, and a captain had
been assigned to deal with them. The
highest caseload was 121 cases and consisted of assault GBH and theft. The oldest docket in the system was of murder
and had case no. 123/10/2010. The
station had 25 registered informers.
Detectives did not know the fingerprinting legislation.
3.4.3 SPECIFIC CONCERNS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The following are positive findings of the Committee:
·
The station had school
visits during holidays, and the Committee commended that.
·
Colonel Botha was commended
for his knowledge of the fleet of vehicles he was looking after.
·
Colonel Maleka was
commended for holding crime-prevention operations in the area. Teachers also helped during operations.
·
The DPO who was responsible
for SAP 13 firearms was commended for doing good work.
The following are the key concerns of the Committee:
The following are the key recommendations of the Committee:
The Committee recommends that the Minister should ensure that:
3.5 POLOKWANE POLICE STATION (02 FEBRUARY 2012)
Rating: For the third quarter of 2011/12, Polokwane police station had a rating
of 49.33%, Grade D+, with a grading of two
stars. It was ranked 88th in the Limpopo Province out of 92 stations
and ranked 936 nationally.
3.5.1 KEY OBSERVATIONS
The Station Commander, Brigadier
Mashele, mentioned the following:
Management: The Station Commander has been a SAPS member since she was
nineteen. She was previously a provincial
head of Vispol. She had been in the station for five months. She had completed all the relevant station
commander courses. The station was an accounting station. Cluster meetings were held every Monday. There was a good relationship amongst the
cluster members. There were three field-training
officers and members had been trained in the field-training course. There were plans to renovate the station. There was no private security contract.
The following information (highlighted) was provided to the Committee on
23 April 2012:
(The station is
not renovated and is not on the SAPS Strategic Plan. However a second police
station has been opened in Polokwane as per the investigation referred to
during our meeting and is called Westernburg Police Station).
There were instances in which there would be no water at the
station. There was a separate room for
certification of documents and the queue was very long.
Community Service Centre: The station was clearly marked and was accessible by wheelchair. The area was generally clean except for the
kitchenette. The noticeboard had
informative information. There was a
suggestion box and its contents were discussed in management meetings. There was a bail register with bail
conditions in it, although it was very chaotic. The admission of guilt register
was very full and was difficult to read.
Satellite police stations: The station had three satellite police stations that were operating 24
hours a day. There were four contact
points.
Community Police Forum: There was a functional CPF at the station. The meetings took place twice a month and were
well attended by the station management, except for the head of detectives (but
he had been at the station for only two months). The CPF sometimes received complaints about
police members. The last AGM had been
held in 2010.
The CPF mentioned that the area needed more satellite police stations
and training of police officers on languages spoken by the community.
Unions: The station had a good relationship with the unions. This had not been the case under the previous
Station Commander. Staff complained
about unfair treatment when it came to promotions. They said the station needed more personnel
and vehicles for crime prevention. They
complained about not being compensated for working overtime. They said that the caseload for detectives
was high.
It was the unions who had reported the issue of the manipulation of
statistics.
FCS: The station had a VEP centre which was
clean, but it was not equipped with beds.
Victims were sent to places of safety around town. There was always a female officer on
duty. Volunteers did receive a
stipend. A total number of 56 SAPS
members were trained on DVA, 16 were trained on Sexual Offences Act. There was a DVA register at the station, its
regulations and National Instruction.
The station had a draft copy of station orders. There was a Child
Justice Act but no regulations.
Firearms: The firearms register was neat, although it did not have all the
required information. There was no
proper control of the safe keys. The
nearest accredited firearm training institution was 5 kms away.
Designated Police Official: There was a DPO at the station and he had access to the DVA
register. He had his own vehicle and
worked with five subordinates. A total
of 2615 applications for firearm-licence renewals had been received and they
were all successful and all of them had been distributed. The period for the completion of the process
was seven months, and eight months for new licence applications.
The DPO, Captain M J Phasha, knew and had passion for, his work.
Discipline: There was a general problem with absenteeism at the station. The most absenteeism was reported during the
night shift and during the month of January. There were 16 cases of grievances. Of these, 15 had been resolved and one was
still outstanding. The grievances
related to unfair treatment and promotions.
A firearm had been stolen from a cubby hole of a crime-intelligence
officer’s vehicle. Disciplinary steps
were being taken on the matter. The
station was investigating a case of firearms that had been signed for by a
certain colonel and had subsequently disappeared.
Vehicles: The RAG and the actual number of vehicles did not correlate. The Committee was told that the RAG indicated
a number of 68 vehicles, while the actual was 112 vehicles, three buses and one
truck. The Committee was not satisfied
with this information. It took three
days for the garage to repair minor dents and 38 days for bigger jobs.
The inspected vehicles were clean and had spare wheels, although some of
these were flat.
Detectives: There were insufficient meeting rooms for use by detectives. The average years of experience of detectives
was 18 years, and the average age was 38 years.
A total of 79 out of 88 detectives had completed the full detective
training course, and four had completed the specialised training course. Detectives received four training
opportunities per year. The station
needed 20 more detectives.
There was a shortage of vehicles at the unit, and two and half
detectives were allocated per vehicle. The detectives needed eight to ten more
vehicles. Five of their vehicles had
reached 200 000 kms and were going to be boarded.
The caseload at the unit was currently 5 400 cases. The average number of cases assigned to each
detective was 80 - the smallest being 36 and the highest 170. The offices were not locked and dockets were
lying around on the tables.
The dockets were inspected once a month, and the Committee mentioned
that that was not acceptable as this should be done on a weekly basis. No docket had been lost in the past three
years. The oldest docket that was still
open in the system was 97/07/96. The
e-docket system was fully operational at the station.
Some exhibits were found in one of the detective’s offices.
Cells: On the day of the visit, the captain who was responsible for the cells
mentioned that he was a sector manager and had just been called that day to
look after the cells, because the lieutenant who was normally responsible was
off sick.
There were eight cells at the
station and they were all in operation.
The cells were designed to hold 55 detainees, but, during the visit,
there were 63 detainees inside the cells.
The register showed that on 21 January 2012 there were no cell
inspections. There had been more than 12
hours of non-visitations.
There was a woman with a small baby inside the cells. There was a detainee who had been there since
September 2011, because he did not have money for bail. There was no drinking water in some of the
cells. The toilet was not flushing in
one of the cells. There were foreign nationals
who were allegedly wrongly arrested.
There was a detainee who was very sick with chest pains and was not
allowed to go to hospital.
One detainee had been brought back from prison because he was sick. Shoe laces, tracksuit strings and plastic bags
were found inside the cells. The inside
doors of the cells were not working.
SAPS 13 Stores:
The firearms were neatly packed.
Those that had already been taken for ballistics tests were kept in
separate plastic bags.
The store was very big and well kept.
The exhibits were properly labelled.
The exhibit the Committee asked for was easily found. There were drugs that dated back to 2009 that
had not been sent to forensics. The
register showed that some exhibits (drugs) had been destroyed, although that
was not the case. There was a lot of
cash in the store. The transfer register
was not well kept.
Archives: The archives were very neat and properly packed. The docket that the Committee asked for was
easily found.
The Committee commended the good work done by Captain M P Nchaupe, W/O K
S Mashiane and W/O M J Molele.
3.6.2 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTED
The Provincial Commissioner was requested to:
·
provide the Committee with
a report on the outcome of the investigation into the manipulation of crime
statistics.
The following information (highlighted) was provided to the Committee on
03 June 2012:
(The members involved were from Polokwane and Mankweng Police Stations –
the departmental hearings took place on 16-18 May 2012. Further hearings will take place on 18-20
July 2012.)
3.6.3 SPECIFIC CONCERNS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The following are the
positive findings of the Committee:
·
The Station Commander works
overtime without compensation.
·
The CSC Commander was working
hard and needed to be supported.
·
The station was one of the
few stations that had properly kept SAP 13 stores.
·
The station was good but
needed to be managed more effectively.
The following are the key
concerns of the Committee:
·
The Committee strongly
condemned the fact that police officers who were involved in the manipulation
of crime statistics had been sent to the provincial office and formed part of
the provincial delegation. The Committee
viewed this as the promotion of officers who had been involved in wrongdoing.
The following are the key
recommendations of the Committee:
The National Commissioner should ensure that:
·
the SAPS should train the
CSC officers on how to keep the DVA registers.
4. GENERAL CONCERNS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The following are the
overarching general positive findings of the Committee:
The Committee, during its oversight visit, came into contact with a number
of exceptional members of the SAPS, who were performing their functions beyond
the call of duty.
The following overarching
general concerns noted and recommendations made by the Committee include:
Management: Management at many of the stations visited was weak. The National
Commissioner should ensure that ineffective managers should be redeployed into
positions in which they would be more useful. Managers should also be made to recognise
the value of the administrative aspects of their work, which would also result
in more effective crime reduction and crime combating.
Firearms: Poor control of both SAPS firearms and exhibit firearms was apparent at many
of the stations. This poses a very real danger to persons and the community at
large. The National Commissioner should ensure that all firearms at police
stations should be audited and IBIS tested.
Management of firearms should also be improved urgently. Staff with
sufficient authority should be put in control of these firearms. The CSC
commander should be responsible for the SAPS firearms register and keys.
Archives: The poor state of the archives, with the exception of the archives at Polokwane
police station, was alarming.
SAPS 13 stores: Some drugs found in the SAPS 13 stores were not being dealt with in the
same manner as other drugs.
Detectives: Lack of proper management of the detectives was noted at many of the
stations, resulting in poor detection and conviction rates and the withdrawal of
cases by the courts.
Absenteeism: The abuse of sick leave is an ongoing problem in the SAPS.
The National Commissioner should ensure that sick-leave patterns and the
reasons for the abuse of sick leave should be analysed. This should play a big role during
promotions. It cannot be correct that people
who abuse sick leave are promoted to senior positions.
Discipline: Lack of discipline continues to be a problem at stations. Action taken
has not been effective in ensuring behavioural changes.
The National Commissioner should ensure that every action or instance of
misconduct should have immediate consequences.
Cells: The conditions of the cells and treatment of detainees at many of the stations
were appalling. The Committee was very
shocked that police were brutally assaulting detainees.
Sector policing: It became apparent
during the visit that the province did not know how sector policing
operated. The Provincial Commissioner
promised to improve the situation.
Vehicles: The lack of monitoring and effective use of the Automated Vehicle Location
(AVL) system is a concern. The Minister should ensure that the AVL system is properly
monitored.
The National Commissioner should also note the following: There is a
need for improved control over vehicles’ logbooks and there should be consequences
for the abuse of vehicles. All SAPS vehicles’ licences must be renewed in good
time. Management of available resources must be improved. Consideration should
be given to sending new recruits to advanced driving courses.
Corruption: Allegations of corruption by the SAPS members and involvement of the
police in acts of criminality in the areas was a serious concern to the
Committee.
Relationship with the Community:
In a few instances, the poor relationship between the police
and the community was apparent.
Recommendations of
oversight bodies: The Committee noted many
instances where the recommendations of oversight bodies, including the
Inspectorate and the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), had been ignored
by the police station.
Implementation of legislation: Ongoing lack of proper implementation of the various Acts passed by
Parliament, including the Domestic Violence Act, the Child Justice Act, the Firearms Control Act
and the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedure) Amendment Act was noted.
Promotions: The allegations that
the Provincial Human Resources Department was promoting members on the basis of
ethnicity. The fact that SAPS members
who were non-performing were promoted and some had no qualifications needed
urgent intervention and investigation.
The Committee recommends that the Public Service Commission should be
requested to investigate all promotions in the province.
The National Commissioner should ensure that steps should be taken at
station, Cluster and Provincial level to address this situation in each of the
stations. Training should be provided for all members to ensure that they know
the contents of the legislation and how to apply them.
Ohrigstad: This is a police station that
was functional but had challenges.
Sekhukhune: This police station that was
moving with speed towards being dysfunctional.
Burgersfort: The police station was
completely dysfunctional.
Mankweng: This is a police station that
was functional but with challenges that could be attended to.
Polokwane: This is a police
station that was functional but needs to be properly managed.
5. OUTSTANDING MATTERS
·
It is noted that the Province
provided the Committee with most of the information that was asked for. The bulk of the information was provided to
the Committee a day before the Committee completed its visit.
Report to be considered.
Appendix 1: Acronyms and
Terms used in the Report
Acronyms:
AFIS- Automated
Fingerprint Identification System
AVL- Automated
Vehicle Location system
CPF- Community
Police Forum
CSC- Community
Service Centre
FCS- Family Violence, Child
Protection and Sexual Offences Unit
SAPS- South
African Police Service
DPO- Designated
Police Officer
VEP- Victim
Support Centre
DVA- Domestic
Violence Act
CJA- Child
Justice Act
CJS- Criminal
Justice System
Terms used:
Designated Police Official-
This refers to the person responsible at station level for dealing with licencing
and other requirements in terms of the Firearm Control Act.
SAPS 13 Store- This refers to the
stores and safes that hold exhibits including firearm exhibits.
Firearm Safe- This refers to the
safe(s) that hold State (official firearms) for use by SAPS members.