Here’s something to know about SAPS victims support structures
Never forget that victims have rights too.
Sergeant Tshilidzi Magadze, Constable Phumi Kraai and Victim supporter Nthabiseng Hadebe from the victim empowerment office at the Langlaagte Police Station assisted us with understanding what support they have for victims.
After the interview with Senele Mabuza, it was important for us to educate victims of abuse about the support structures that they have from the South African Police Service (SAPS).
According to Kraai, the victim empowerment offices have social workers who come in on a Wednesday, the social workers offer couples or relatives mediation where the two parties come together to find common ground, they offer to counsel and they also do referrals if the issue is out of their control.
When it came to explaining protection orders, Magadze said: “When you apply for a protection order you have to fill in an application at the family court and then you take it to the police station where a police officer will go serve it to the person you would like to open the protection order against.
“The application will have a court date where both parties will have to attend and when the two parties meet at court, it is only then when the magistrate will grant the protection order.”
The sergeant added that the protection order will be official and then if the perpetrator continues after the protection order is granted, the applicant needs to go back to court to apply for a warrant of arrest. That warrant of arrest needs to be taken to the police station and a docket will be opened.
The warrant of arrest will be filed in there. The police officers will then be able to go an arrest the person. According to Magadze, there is no time limit for a protection order, once its open it stands.
The complaint will state the boundaries of the protection order for example if you do not want to be in the same room as the person, you’d like to cut all contact with the person, so they cannot contact you and so forth, the moment the person breaks one of the things then they will be contravening the order and can be arrested if a warrant of arrest is opened.
“It all depends on the situation also. Whatever you said in court will also determine what the protection order grants,” added Kraai.
When asked how long the perpetrator will be arrested for, the officers said that it depends on what the magistrate rules. The duration of the process of the protection order depends on the availability of the magistrate.
The station number at Langlaagte is 011 473 6200 extensions 18 and 19, however, the officers recommended that the victim should call 10111 and they will provide you with a reference number, if the stations’ police officers do not attend to the reported matter you can use the reference number as evidence to file a complaint against the police station.
If you do not have airtime you can call 112, that is for emergencies and then listen to the voice options, you select option ‘2’ for the police and wait to give your location to the police.
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