The South African Police Service (SAPS) is facing a significant financial burden due to recklessness, negligence, and misconduct cases. The total number of delictual claims against the SAPS until the end of June 2024 is 43,954, with contingent liabilities estimated at R65,360,878,668, or just under R1.5 million per claim. This figure is over R273 million higher than the R65.08 billion recorded for the financial year ending March 2023, substantially higher than the R20.6 billion attached in 2012, and R16.6 billion in 2011.
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. Other 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.
Safer Spaces highlights that a rising but endemic issue in South Africa is that of police brutality. 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.
Researchers Dr. John Motsamai Modise from the SAPS and Dr. Philly Masogo call for the prioritization of accountability leadership to tackle some of these woes, as it “promotes a culture of transparency and demonstrates a commitment to ethical conduct.” By adopting accountability leadership, the researchers say that SAPS can achieve four key objectives, and bring these misconduct cases down:
1. Regain Public Trust by being transparent and upholding ethical standards, showing the public that officers are held accountable for their actions.
2. Combat Corruption through clear accountability mechanisms that ensure fair investigations and appropriate consequences for misconduct, thus promoting ethical behavior.
3. 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 suggestions in preventing such recklessness, negligence, and misconduct cases, including:
1. 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.
2. 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.
