Police 'errors' are costing the State

According to a 2022 report, the State of South Africa is dealing with civil claims totaling at least R147 billion. The government spends billions on legal fees each year to defend itself against these claims, which include those made against home affairs, police, and health departments.

These lawsuits can usually be avoided.

Consider a case where a man in his late forties was charged with "stabbing" a woman in her seventies. The investigating officer failed to conduct a proper investigation, and the prosecutor proceeded despite the complainant admitting under oath that she had not claimed to be stabbed.

The medical legal document, called J88, which is for injuries sustained in crimes such as assault, also showed no evidence of a stabbing.

This should have signalled the State to investigate further for potential perjury regarding a nonexistent crime.

The suspect was ultimately acquitted, and the State now faces a significant lawsuit. If the court rules in favor of the claimant, taxpayers will bear the cost of this police and prosecution incompetence.

Furthermore, we are hearing a lot of such incompetence coming to light. The Madlanga Commission has exposed a national crisis in SAPS's forensic and ballistic systems.

One shocking example is the murder weapons case involving Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart and other victims. These were later linked to at least twenty other murders, including those of prominent figures such as DJ Vintos, DJ Sumbody, and businessman Don Tindleni.

The SAPS ballistic report on these same weapons contained a number of factual errors, missing analyses, and even erroneous case numbers.

The national head of ballistics, Brigadier Mishak Mkhabela, admitted that the first report was “error-riddled” and that the same analyst, Captain Itumeleng Makgotloe, had to make several revisions. His mistakes were explained away as "typos."

Unfortunately, until these "typos" are rectified and specific police officers receive adequate training, crime will remain unsolved, and State funds will continue to be depleted.