The Eastern Cape SAPS has civil claims totalling R7,5 billion pending against its officers. The Department has already paid out over R47 million in civil claims for the 22/23 financial year, ranging from unlawful arrest and illegal search and seizure to assault and shooting. R15 million has already been paid for the first four months of the current 23/24 financial year.
Communities want to trust the police unconditionally and feel safe and protected in an orderly environment. They want to see police on the beat, not SAPS officers in court for wrongdoing!
To improve discipline, accountability and trust in SAPS body cameras should be worn as part of a digital strategy to fight crime and cameras placed on all vehicles. This is an approach adopted by the City of Cape Town for its metro police. I urge the EC SAPS to follow suit.
The bad apples, guilty of brutality and lack of discipline, cannot be allowed to tarnish the good work done by our policemen- and women, often under very trying circumstances. Bad behaviour casts doubt in people’s minds.
In response to a parliamentary question from the DA, Community Safety MEC, Xolile Nqatha, revealed that in the 22/23 financial year, there were 519 successful claims of unlawful arrest, 47 motor vehicle accidents, 29 successful claims for wrongful search and seizure, 25 successful claims of assault, seven shooting claims, five damages claims and one loss of property claim. There were also 25 additional successful claims that could not be categorised as one of the above.
These successful claims are just a drop in the bucket, with the R7,5 billion, made up of 4349 claims, still pending against the police as of July last year.
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When these civil claims are paid out, the funding inevitably comes from operational budgets, resulting in less funds for real police work. Hundreds of vehicles could have been bought with this amount.
MEC Nqatha said awareness campaigns were rolled out and these were proving effective, but the figures tell a different story.
Despite these staggering figures, MEC Nqatha revealed that not one police officer had been suspended due to the claims against the SAPS for the 22/23 or 23/24 financial years.
The DA believes that to deliver an effective crime-fighting and community protection service, the conduct and integrity of police service members must be above reproach. Police officers should not flout the law, they should uphold it.
The DA has a plan to rescue the Eastern Cape, creating a province where residents can rely on a well-managed and disciplined police service that takes pride in its calling to serve and protect.
The SAPS must uphold and promote a culture of human rights and adhere to the rule of law. This lies at the heart of a constitutional democracy.
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