The Portfolio Committee on Police chairperson Ian Cameron said while the South African Police Service’s (Saps’s) achievement of an unqualified audit opinion is commendable, the challenge of underperformance in reducing critical crime trends remains.

On Wednesday the committee received briefings from the Office of the Auditor-General, Saps management, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) and the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service (CSPS).

The committee expressed serious concerns with Saps’s performance, compliance and internal control management, stating that it was “unacceptable” that the Saps failed to meet 10 of its 18 planned performance targets for the year.

“This includes critical areas such as arrests for economic infrastructure-related crimes, where there was a shortfall of over 3 200 arrests compared to the set target,” said Cameron.

Cameron said these challenges needed urgent attention, also pointing to Saps management’s fiscal and governance responsibilities, as well as the reduction of some stubborn crime trends.

Cameron said the committee believed the review of the 2023/24 annual reports for Saps, CSPS, IPID and PSIRA showed a clear need for more decisive action and accountability across the entire police and security services sector.

He added that the annual reports also placed greater responsibility on the committee to enhance its oversight function to ensure these entities performed to the highest standards, in light of South Africa high crime rates.

He explained that in a country battling extortion, organised crime and rising violence, failure to meet targets directly undermined Saps’s ability to safeguard economic development and public safety.

“…the fact that the Saps is failing to dismantle the extortions syndicates is confirmation of the committee’s view that the lack of a clear and actionable plan will continue to hamper efforts to defeat the scourge of extortions in the country,” Cameron said.

He pointed to “continued inefficiencies” in the management of the 10111 command centres, saying despite years of discussions, there was little evidence of improvement.

Cameron said the “severe depletion” of the Detective Services Division remained a serious concern.

He noted that in the last seven years, detective numbers had fallen from 26 000 to just 17 000, which he said negatively affected the Saps’s ability to investigate crime and present winnable cases to the National Prosecuting Authority.

The committee maintained that without an adequate force of detectives, an expectation of thorough and timely investigation of crimes would “remain a dream”.

“This not only delays justice but will also embolden criminals to believe they can operate with impunity,” Cameron said.

The Crime Intelligence Division remained an area requiring intensive focus from the Saps, he added.

“Although Saps claims that this division achieved 100% of its targets, the rising levels of extortion, cash-in-transit heists, cross-border crimes and kidnappings suggest otherwise. The committee believes there is a clear disconnect between the reported achievements and the reality on the ground, which raises serious questions about the integrity of the performance data,” he stated.

He noted the Saps’s apparent failure to adequately address the DNA analysis backlog, saying it was another critical concern, which severely hampered efforts to prosecute gender-based violence and other serious crimes.

The backlog now stood at 70 000 cases, said Cameron.

“It is imperative that Saps gets this issue under control if we are to improve conviction rates and deliver justice to victims,” he said.

CSPS, IPID and PSIRA

Meanwhile, the committee welcomed the attainment of a second consecutive clean audit by the CSPS, which Cameron said highlighted a commitment to sound financial management.

“However, the committee amplified the continued challenges with underspending and personnel management, particularly in the Office of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations Judge and the DNA Board,” he said.

Cameron said these two critical entities were integral to oversight and accountability, and their inefficiency undermined the broader criminal justice system, calling for urgent solutions to addressing the consistent underspending to enhance their capacity to perform their critical roles.

IPID, while also receiving an unqualified audit, faced ongoing challenges in improving its performance.

“There are continued complaints of police misconduct and brutality, yet the slow pace of investigations has eroded public confidence in IPID’s ability to hold officers accountable. More must be done to speed up investigations and improve communication with the public on case progress,” he highlighted.

Cameron pointed out that while PSIRA had made strides in improving its financial management, questions remained about its capacity to effectively regulate an industry that wielded considerable influence over public safety.

He explained that the recent discovery of a suspected military training camp in Mpumalanga was testament to the PSIRA’s shortcomings in its regulatory and oversight role.

“Strengthening PSIRA’s regulatory role is crucial, especially as private security firms continue to fill gaps left by an overstretched Saps. Meanwhile, the committee noted with concern that the entity received a qualified audit opinion, which highlights system deficiencies within the entity,” he said.