R67.4 billion in civil claims against Saps, here’s where it’s going wrong

The South African Police Service (Saps) is battling a backlog of case dockets and litigation against its unlawful practices, the portfolio committee on police in parliament heard on Wednesday.

This is due to several factors, including capacity and budget constraints.

In November last year, police top management told the same committee that the number of police officers remains significantly below the projected capacity required to ensure public safety.

Shortage of police officers

In the 2022/23 financial year, Saps had 179 624 officers. By the end of September 2024, this number had risen to 185 196 – an increase of 5 572.

However, Saps requires 310 132 officers to meet its operational needs.

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Due to this shortage, detectives are faced with a workload they cannot handle. This, in turn, means cases go for long without being solved.

“Detectives in the South African Police Service have been contending with an increasing caseload for an extended period, resulting in underperformance and raising concerns about their effectiveness in crime detection and investigation,” the committee heard.

“The accumulation of an unmanageable backlog has further exacerbated the situation, necessitating systemic docket reduction strategies and improved workload management.”

Saps is currently managing 1 903 600 open case dockets, 551 341 of which are older than two years.

To address the issue, the Saps is adding more officers to its ranks. Of the 10 017 police officers targeted to join the force between last year and this year, 35% will be dedicated to the detective department.

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Saps is also exploring the contracting of former detectives to expedite the resolution of the cases.

This, however, means an increased budget allocation to personnel costs.

Saps bleeding money

While Saps needs an increased budget allocation to personnel costs, it is unfortunately bleeding money to civil claims.

The portfolio committee heard on Wednesday that the Saps is currently faced with R67.4 billion in civil claims. The biggest cut is from unlawful arrests and detention, with R617.8 million paid out from the R67.4 billion.

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“The category that is taking most of the money is unlawful detention and arrest,” said Saps.

“This matter is receiving attention. We are all concerned about the amount paid out for civil claims because it means all the money has to be directed to that.”

This is due to several issues, including a lack of collaboration between detectives and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

“It’s important that the NPA gives directives to police members. If the charge is wrong, but there is an alternative charge, the prosecutor must assist the police in terms of the correct charge that needs to be put on the charge sheet rather than withdrawing the matter from the court roll.”

Saps is working to reduce civil claims by going to police stations to check their registers.

“This is done to check if we have not exceeded 48 hours of detention and why people are being detained.”

It is also working with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate whether there have been any criminal elements by some of the police members when effecting arrests.

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Police officers who act out of scope will also be held liable for any claim that may be instituted.

“We are also making sure we find collusion between private attorneys and police members for civil claims.”