Bid to make stations accountable for performance

THE CIVILIAN Secretariat for Police Services (CSPS) wants station commanders whose police stations fail to serve protection orders on time without valid reasons to be held accountable.

Secretary of police Alvin Rapea said failure by the SAPS to comply with the duties as outlined in the Domestic Violence Act and national instruction constituted misconduct.

Rapea made the recommendation in his report, submitted to Police Minister Bheki Cele, after the CSPS visited 264 police stations between October 2017 and March 2018.

The police secretariat is mandated to monitor and evaluate SAPS compliance with the Domestic Violence Act.

Rapea said the SAPS was required to report non-compliance to Parliament, and has reported 158 cases – with 25 related to poor service delivery.

“These included 18 incidents of failure to assist complainants to open cases, four of failure to confiscate a firearm from a perpetrator, two of failure to serve protection orders and one failure to arrest a perpetrator,” Rapea said in a report tabled in Parliament.

He named Western Cape and Free State as provinces with most incidents at 73 and 43 respectively.

Rapea said during their 264 visits to police stations, 57 incidents of non-compliance were identified in Eastern Cape, Limpopo and the Western Cape.

He also said 194 police stations served protection orders on time.

“In all the provinces, there were some police stations that did not serve protection orders immediately, as obligated by the national instruction and Domestic Violence Act. North West and Western Cape had the majority of stations, within those that have been been visited, having served protection orders within two months, with 19 out 20 and seven out of eight respectively.”

In 30 stations in other provinces there were no records of protection orders received, but in some stations it was not clear whether it was a question of poor records maintenance or not receiving the protection orders.

Rapea said delaying in serving protection orders immediately contradicted the Domestic Violence Act and national instruction.

“SAPS should closely monitor police stations that are performing poorly, and come up with interventions to assist them.

“Disciplinary steps should be taken against station commanders whose stations are failing to serve protection orders on time without any valid reasons,” Rapea said.

In his report, Rapea also said 12 officers were reported to be perpetrators of domestic violence, from 12 out of the 264 visited stations.

“The majority of these members (8) are currently placed within the visible policing units in the respective police stations. There were 10 disciplinary processes initiated by the management of police stations and six firearms were seized.”

In the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, the officers were subjected to disciplinary proceedings; in Limpopo two proceedings were initiated with one case withdrawn, while in another no steps were taken, although a firearm was seized.