Police action responsible for 420 deaths in SA

There have been a total of 420 cases of deaths reported as a result of police action in the 2021/22 financial year, ending March 31, with KwaZulu-Natal recording 106 cases.

This was revealed in the Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s (Ipid) annual report which was released in Parliament this week.

A total of 5 295 cases were registered by Ipid during the financial year. Western Cape reported the highest intake with 963, followed by Gauteng with 984, and KwaZulu-Natal with 628. Out of those cases, 3 407 were for assault. There were 410 deaths as a result of police action and 223 deaths in police custody.

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The police watchdog revealed that 25 out of 223 cases of deaths in police custody were reported in KwaZulu-Natal.

In KwaZulu-Natal, 300 cases of assault were investigated with 20 cases of rape in police custody, and 119 cases of discharging of an official firearm.READ MOREUpdated: Durban couple dies after fumigation next door

Four cases of corruption were investigated by Ipid in KZN, while 52 cases of torture were recorded.

In the report, Ipid said there were 2 018 cases being investigated in KwaZulu-Natal and 11 231 cases being investigated nationally, with 103 investigations having been completed.

Ipid is labour-intensive, therefore more investigators are required to handle the workload. To ensure service delivery, the department had to rely on the internal reprioritisation of resources and cases. To accelerate the optimal utilisation of existing human capital, a process of re-aligning functions to strengthen limited capacity was initiated.

It added 4 015 cases had been investigated and referred to the police and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for disciplinary sanctions and prosecution, respectively.

It said the referrals to police involved 311 police officers.

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Ipid said to examine evidential data and produce technical reports, such as post-mortem, DNA, ballistic, and histology, the department still relies on other entities, the Department of Health and the National Forensic Science Laboratory.

It said these technical reports are required for the investigation process to be completed (decision-ready), after which a case is referred to either the SAPS and the Municipal Police Service (MPS) for implementation of Ipid’s recommendations or for prosecution.

Ipid also said 276 cases could not be finalised by the end of the financial year due to outstanding technical reports.

It said the affected case classifications are death as a result of police action with 148 cases, discharge of an official firearm with 95, and rape by a police officer with 21 cases.

This delay has an adverse impact on performance and the finalisation of cases. The department has been engaging with the Department of Health at both provincial and national level and the National Forensic Science Laboratory on outstanding technical reports.