Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said that the more than 1.8 million dockets returned to the SAPS did not include those already enrolled in the courts.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has returned more than 1.8 million dockets to the police for further investigation in the past five financial years.
The Freedom Front Plus said the return of such a large number of dockets for further investigation was indicative of the extensive crisis affecting the police and detectives.
Party leader Pieter Groenewald made the statement after Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola revealed, in a written response to Groenewald’s question, that 1 820 621 cases were returned to the SAPS for further investigation in the past five financial years.
Lamola said the decision by a prosecutor, whether a decision was taken or if further investigation was required, was recorded in a decision docket register at each magistrate’s office and the offices of the director of public prosecutions.
“The request for further investigation may be required to make a final decision but it may also relate to completing the chain of evidence for evidentiary purposes in court and in getting the case ready for enrolment.
“Depending on the nature of the charges, some investigations could require financial audit reports or additional forensic or ballistic evidence which a prosecutor from previous experience deems necessary in preparation for the enrolment and subsequent trial,” he said.
He also said that the more than 1.8 million dockets returned to the SAPS did not include those already enrolled in the courts.
“The importance of the investigation to be completed before enrolment, especially in decision dockets where no accused is appearing in court as yet, is that it will prevent unnecessary delays in court and also curb the cost of court appearances,” Lamola added.
Groenewald said the figures painted the bigger picture of the extensive and serious crisis affecting the country’s police and detective service, which had a direct detrimental impact on the entire criminal justice system.
“The deep-rooted problems in the SAPS’s detective division are paralysing the criminal justice system,” he said.
Groenewald also said the police portfolio committee learnt last year that the SAPS had lost a total of 8 400 detectives since 2016.
The resources at the detectives’ disposal were getting scarcer every year, with more than a quarter of the vehicles assigned to detectives in certain provinces being unusable.
Groenewald said the detectives simply could not be allowed to deteriorate as South Africa had over the past few years. “More qualified detectives should be appointed urgently, and efforts should be made to recruit experienced members to return.”
He noted that Lamola had in his response referred to the “Norms and Standards for the Performance of Judicial Functions”, which stipulate, among other things, that accused persons have a “right to a speedy trial” and that dockets should be complete.
“Under the current circumstances, quite the opposite is happening,” Groenewald said.
Cape Times