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SUBMISSION by the INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES (ISS) to the

SUBMISSION by the INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES (ISS) to the PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON POLICE The South African Police Service ’ s Annual Report for 2010/2011 11 October 2011 Dr Johan Burger Senior Researcher Crime and Justice Programme.

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SUBMISSION by the INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES (ISS) to the

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  1. SUBMISSION by the INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES (ISS) to the PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON POLICE The South African Police Service’s Annual Report for 2010/2011 11 October 2011 Dr Johan Burger Senior ResearcherCrime and Justice Programme

  2. Introduction to the ISS and the Crime & Justice Programme (CJP) • General Comments • Layout of the Annual Report • Gaps and challenges in the reporting on the police’s performance • Concluding remarks Presentation Outline www.issafrica.org

  3. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) is an African non-governmental policy research institute. Our work is aimed at contributing to a stable and peaceful Africa characterised by sustainable development, human rights, the rule of law, democracy and collaborative security The Crime and Justice Programme (CJP) of the ISS works to inform and influence policy and public discourse on crime, its prevention and criminal justice by conducting research, analysing policy, disseminating information and providing expertise as a contribution towards a safer and secure society The ISS & CJP www.issafrica.org

  4. The Annual Reports of the SAPS have over the years evolved into a comprehensive and thorough source of information on the national police, both as an organisation and on its performance • The purpose of ISS submissions therefore is to raise some of the performance issues that emerge from an ongoing monitoring of these reports & to highlight possible gaps that could assist the committee with its oversight role • This submission does not cover every aspect of the report, but focuses primarily on issues relating to programme performance & human resource management • For purposes of clarity and for ease of reference as to where the ISS analysis is focused it is useful to provide a broad layout of the 2010/11 Annual Report General comments www.issafrica.org

  5. The 2010/11 Annual Report comprises of 222 pages and is divided into the following sections: • Pp.i-xviii: General information (Vision, Mission, Statements by the Minister, Deputy Minister & National Commissioner, organisational structure, mandate, etc) • Pp.1-118: Information on predetermined objectives (overall performance & programme performance). Programme performance refers to: • Administration • Visible Policing • Detective Services • Crime Intelligence • Protection and Security Services Layout of the Annual Report www.issafrica.org

  6. Pp.119-192: Annual financial statements (inclusive of the reports of the Audit Committee, Auditor General & Accounting Officer) • Pp.193-221: Human resource management (inclusive of service delivery, expenditure per programme & salaries, employment and vacancies, filling of SMS posts, job evaluation, employment changes and employment equity, performance rewards, leave and labour relations, etc) • Annexure A is SAPS’s annual crime report (crime statistics). It is now moved from the main report to an annexure and adds another 32 pages to the report • Pp.30-54 is the annual report of the Secretariat of Police (Unlike the ICD the Secretariat does not yet have a separate annual report. This will probably change when the new CivilianSecretariat for Police Service Act is implemented) Layout of the Annual Report (Contd) www.issafrica.org

  7. Purpose: To develop policy and manage the Department, including providing administrative support • Human resource development (pp.22-26): • Total of 178 870 employees were trained (Entry level, operational, support, management, detectives, etc) • 90,2% learners were found competent upon completion of training • Possible questions: • What happens to learners/trainees who fail or are not found competent in each course? (E.g. are they re-entered for that training? If so, how many times and how is this managed?) • No mention is made of firearms training. How many police officials received firearms training for purposes of competency required by the Firearms Control Act and how many were found competent? Consequences for those who failed? Programme 1: Administration www.issafrica.org

  8. Human resource planning and utilisation (p.21): • Capacity of detectives increased by 11% from 20 291 to 22 594 • Possible questions: • What is the human resource target for the detectives? (E.g. what percentage of the total of the organisation?) • What is the current vacancy rate within the detective service? • Corruption & fraud prevention (p.26): • In 2009/10 SAPS’s began with the implementation of its revised Corruption and Fraud Prevention Plan (CFPP) The following table provides figures for members charged for corruption, defeating the ends of justice, fraud, bribery and extortion in terms of the SAPS disciplinary regulations: Programme 1: Administration (Contd) www.issafrica.org

  9. Corruption and associated offences: • Number of members charged with corruption related offences increased by 31% since 2009/10 • Possible questions: • What are the reasons for increase in corruption cases (E.g. is it better detection as a result of the revised CFPP or is corruption in the police simply on the increase?) Programme 1: Administration (Contd) www.issafrica.org

  10. Programme 1: Administration (Contd) Police criminality and corruption In our submission to this Committee in October 2010 it was pointed out that there is insufficient information in the SAPS’ Annual Reports in relation to police corruption and subsequent criminal prosecution. This is again the position in the 2010/11 Annual Report The Institute wishes to repeat its recommendation for the inclusion of the following information in future Annual Reports: Numbers of police officials that have criminal charges opened against them A breakdown of these charges (per crime category) Number of cases per category that are referred to court for prosecution Numbers of convictions per category Numbers of police officials that are dismissed and not dismissed after being convicted of a criminal offence Indication of the resources dedicated to the implementation and monitoring of the SAPS Anti-Corruption Strategy Measurable indicators of the implementation of the SAPS Anti-Corruption Strategy and its impact

  11. Purpose: To enable police stations to institute and preserve • safety and security, and provide for specialised interventions and the policing of South Africa’s borders • Crime prevention actions (p.65): • During the reporting period the SAPS conducted 29 891 crime prevention operations and carried out 1 452 600 arrests for all types of crime (that is 91 096 more arrests than in 2009/10) • Selected visible police actions or operations: Programme 2: Visible policing www.issafrica.org

  12. These are impressive figures and may have had an impact on some crime reductions in the last financial year. More research is required to determine how and to what extent these operations have an impact and on which crimes • Possible questions: • How are these actions or operations defined and counted (e.g. patrols & searches)? • What systems are in place to ensure accurate reporting and capturing of these actions? • What could be the reason(s) for the decrease (35%) in vehicles searched in 2009/10 compared to 2008/09 and the sharp increase (189%) in the same category in next year (2010/11)? Programme 2: Visible policing (Contd) www.issafrica.org

  13. Arrests as a result of police operations (pp.65-66): • A total of 1 452 600 arrests were made of which 688 937 (47,4%) were for priority (‘serious’) crimes and 763 663 (52,6%) were for other (‘less serious crimes’) • The arrests for selected priority crimes for the last 4 financial years are tabled below: Programme 2: Visible policing (Contd) www.issafrica.org

  14. Programme 2: Visible policing(Contd) The number of arrests for 3 of the 4 crime categories tabled above correlates with the overall increases in police actions and arrest rates. The exception is property related and other serious crimes where slightly fewer (-2507 or -1%) arrests were carried out (This may be the result of the overall decrease (-5%) in property related and other serious crimes in the last financial year) The 47,4% arrests (of the total) for priority crimes is also slightly down from 48,3% in the previous reporting period, but still indicate that close to half of all arrests are for more serious crimes Possible questions: How does the individual provincial arrest rates correlate with the overall or national arrest figures? Is there any correlation between arrest figures and specific crimes (both nationally and for the respective provinces)? [This could provide some indication as to the use of resources] www.issafrica.org

  15. Programme 2: Visible policing (Contd) Lost or stolen firearms (by members of SAPS)(p.72): During the reporting period SAPS members lost 1 335 firearms compared to 3 814 in 2009/10. That is a reduction of 65% This is an admirable improvement and is attributed to a number of control mechanisms implemented by SAPS Possible questions: How were these firearms lost (e.g. lost due to negligence, stolen, etc) What actions were taken against those responsible (e.g. criminal or disciplinary action) How many of these firearms were recovered? www.issafrica.org

  16. Programme 2: Visible policing (Contd) Escapes from police custody (pp.75-76): The number of escapes from police custody decreased significantly in the last 3 years from 1 144 in 2008/09 to 669 in 2010/11 (- 41%) and from 857 in 2009/10 (- 22%) In the last financial year 6 provinces showed decreases with only KwaZulu-Natal (no change), Free State (35 to 54) and North West Province (59 to 81) showing increases Possible questions: What measures are being implemented to address this problem, particularly in provinces where escapes have again increased? To what extent were escapes due to police negligence or active assistance? What actions were taken against members responsible either through negligence or active assistance? www.issafrica.org

  17. Programme 3: Detective Services Purpose: To enable the investigative work of the SAPS, including providing support to investigators in terms of forensic evidence and the Criminal record Centre The most obvious omission from the 2010/11 Annual Report is the conviction rates in the tables for the investigation of various crimes, except for commercial crime. No reason is provided and it can only be assumed that this is because conviction rates are not dependent only on police performance On p.86 the SAPS makes it clear that they accept only 2 criteria to evaluate the performance of the detectives, i.e. detection rate & number of cases ready for court In line with this approach the following table sets out the ‘detection rate’ and percentage of ‘court ready’ cases for the 2010/11 financial year: www.issafrica.org

  18. Programme 3: Detective Services (Contd) Detection rate & court ready cases (pp.86-87): • Possible questions: • Reason(s) for exclusion of conviction rates? (Conviction rates are useful for more reasons than measuring police performance, but can also - to some extent - reflect on quality of investigative work) • What are the reasons for low number of cases to court for crimes dependent on police action? www.issafrica.org

  19. Programme 3: Detective Services (Contd) Performance re commercial crime (pp.97-98): • There are signs of a weakening ability in the performance of the detectives re the investigation of commercial crime. In 2008/09 when only 37 fewer cases were reported 2 488 more arrests were made and 2 097 more convictions achieved www.issafrica.org

  20. Programme 3: Detective Services (Contd) Performance reorganised crime (p.94): www.issafrica.org

  21. Programme 3: Detective Services (Contd) There appears to be some improvement in the performance of the Organised Crime Unit, i.e. an increase of 48% in the number of projects initiated and a 32% increase in the number of projects successfully terminated It is strange that in spite of the above improvements the number of syndicate leaders arrested dropped by 37% (450 to 282) The total number (4 607) of Organised Crime Unit arrests seem to be inflated by the 2 910 arrests resulting from ‘non-project’ investigations. This also true for the total number of convictions (1 076) that is inflated by 700 convictions for ‘non-project’ investigations Possible questions: To explain the discrepancy in the successes with projects against the drop in arrests of syndicate leaders To clarify the mandate of the Organised Crime Unit in terms of its investigative role both for registered projects and for non-project investigations www.issafrica.org

  22. Human resource management • The number of disciplinary hearings for misconduct have steadily increased over the last 4 years. It is possible that this largely correlate with the annual increases in police numbers, but in the last year police numbers increased by only 2,3% while hearings increased by 32% • Possible questions: • Why have the number of disciplinary hearings increased at a rate much higher than that of the annual expansion of the SAPS? (Is it a question of more effective detection of misconduct; better command and control mechanisms; more efficient disciplinary structures; or even a reflection on the quality of staff recruited by the police?) Labour relations (Misconduct & disciplinary hearings) (pp.209 & 217):

  23. Concluding remarks The areas highlighted in this submission are by no means an exhaustive analysis of the SAPS’ Annual Report, and are aimed only at assisting the Portfolio Committee – in addition to other submissions it may receive – to identify weaknesses and gaps in the Report The Institute also wish to express its appreciation to the SAPS for a comprehensive Report and for making copies available to us. The Annual Report is extremely useful as a single source of information on the police and on policing in South Africa and it is hoped that the analysis referred to in this submission will contribute to the further strengthening of future Reports Finally, the Institute also wish to express its appreciation to the Portfolio Committee for the opportunity to submit to it our analysis of the SAPS’ 2010/11 Annual Report

  24. THANK YOU / DANKIE JOHAN BURGER Tel 012 346 9500 jburger@issafrica.org www.issafrica.org

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