R65 billion kick in the teeth for police in South Africa
Recklessness, negligence, and misconduct cases could cost the South African Police Service (SAPS) over R65.3 billion.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu revealed in a written parliamentary response this past week that this was the figure of contingent liabilities attached to legal claims against the department.
“The total number of delictual claims pending against the SAPS until the end of June 2024 is 43,954 in respect of alleged recklessness, negligence and misconduct cases,” said Mchunu.
The total amount of contingent liabilities (a liability the entity may have to pay, depending on the outcome of a future event, such as a court case) against SAPS is now estimated at R65,360,878,668. – equating to just under R1.5 million per claim.
Comparing this to data provided in SAPS’ most recent annual report, this is over R273 million higher than the R65.08 billion recorded for the financial year ending March 2023.
This is substantially higher than the R20.6 billion attached in 2012, and R16.6 billion in 2011.
However, this contingent liability amount “does not necessarily reflect the amounts to which claimants are legally entitled, nor the amounts that are ultimately paid,” said SAPS.
“Depending on the nature of a claim, the average amount of compensation granted is only a small fraction of the amount claimed,” it added.
The claims can stem from various events, such as unlawful arrest and detention, assault, shooting incidents, corruption, vehicle collisions and others.
SAPS’ 2024/25 Annual Performance Plan shows that despite large budgetary increases, the law enforcement body is still struggling to control the country’s surging crime rates.
One of the biggest problems the SAPS faces is an increasing population that new police recruitments cannot keep up with.
According to the report, some of its other most pressing internal challenges include:
- Low morale of members;
- Increased workloads;
- SAPS members involved in crime;
- Ageing, inadequate infrastructure;
- Insufficient resources;
- Need for modernisation;
- and “reduced budget allocations.”
Issues of heavy-handedness
Safer Spaces highlights that a rising but endemic issue in South Africa is that of police brutality.
“South Africa did not only inherit the culture of police brutality as the legacy of the past but has inherited the acceptance of such criminal behaviour by failure to hold the police accountable for their criminal acts of police brutality,” said Safer Spaces.
Researchers Dr. John Motsamai Modise from the SAPS and Dr. Philly Masogo recently echoed this, highlighting that “SAPS continues to grapple with issues” like:
- Police Brutality: Allegations of excessive force and brutality erode public trust.
- Corruption: Corruption within the SAPS weakens its effectiveness and undermines public confidence.
- Ineffectiveness: Crime rates remain high, leading to a perception that the SAPS is not adequately addressing community needs.
They say that these recklessness, negligence and misconduct cases run rampant because “the South African Police Service faces a critical challenge due to a lack of widespread accountability leadership.”
Modise and Masogo call for the prioritisation of accountability leadership to tackle some of these woes, as it “promotes a culture of transparency and demonstrates a commitment to ethical conduct.”
“This can help rebuild public trust in the SAPS, which has been eroded by allegations of brutality and corruption.”
“Leading with a strong moral compass and encouraging others to follow suit is crucial [as a] clear system of accountability deters misconduct and corruption within the SAPS,” which often results in these cases against SAPS, said the researchers.
By adopting accountability leadership, the researchers say that SAPS can achieve four key objectives, and bring these misconduct cases down, which includes:
- Regain Public Trust by being transparent and upholding ethical standards, showing the public that officers are held accountable for their actions.
- Combat Corruption through clear accountability mechanisms that ensure fair investigations and appropriate consequences for misconduct, thus promoting ethical behavior.
- Improve Performance by fostering a culture of continuous improvement and accountability, which helps in learning from mistakes and enhancing officer effectiveness.
Safer Spaces also provided some suggestions in preventing such recklessness, negligence and misconduct cases, including:
- Improve Police Training: SAPS training must address real-world challenges, focusing on handling public protests, raids, and stop-and-search operations effectively. Training should also include interviewing skills and the ability to explain police actions to the public.
- Disregard Evidence from Excessive Force: Information obtained through torture or excessive force should be inadmissible in court. This could discourage such practices, encouraging police to use legitimate methods for gathering evidence.
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