Premier & Minister Allen gravely concerned over Court Watching Brief findings

Joint Media Release: Premier Winde & Minister Allen gravely concerned over Court Watching Brief statistics

Today, Premier Alan Winde, and provincial Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen, provided a breakdown of the latest available statistics from the Court Watching Brief Unit (CWB), covering the first quarter, April to June 2023, of the 2023/24 financial year.

The CWB is an initiative of the Western Cape Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety in terms of Section 206 (3), which strengthens the department’s oversight role and assists it in identifying inefficiencies in the judicial system.

Among the primary focus areas are cases that have been struck from the roll.

Eight courts were monitored by the unit over the period under review, covering 21 police stations. The courts were:

• Khayelitsha
• Bluedowns
• Phillipi
• Mitchells Plain
• Wynberg
• Kuils River
• Bellville
• Athlone

They were selected based on the police stations they serve which are categorised as priority stations due to the seriousness and prevalence of the criminal offences that occur and are recorded in those districts.

The findings for the first quarter of the 2023/24 year show that Kraaifontein police station had the highest number of cases struck from the roll at 8. These included gender-based violence (GBV) matters. The primary reasons for the cases being struck from roll are:

• Failure of the Investigating Officer to finalise the investigation within a reasonable timeframe;
• Failure to have the police docket at court; and
• Accused not brought to court.

Premier Winde stated, “While it is very concerning that cases stemming from serious offences such as GBV are not being dealt with properly in some courts, I am also aware of the immense strain our police officers are under. It is clear there are simply not enough police officers deployed to the Western Cape to make a meaningful enough impact on crime levels.”

He added, “It is for this very reason that we launched the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) which is a force multiplier working closely with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and other law enforcement bodies. Our approach to fighting crime must be data and evidence-driven. However, we are also addressing the root causes of crime, namely unemployment. Much like the Western Cape Safety Plan, our Growth For Jobs strategy is also rooted in and guided by data and evidence.”

During the 2021/22 financial year, the ideal staffing requirement at SAPS station level across South Africa was 193 476 officers. Currently, there are only 105 935 officers. The granted establishment for the Western Cape is 21 367, but as for the 2020/21 financial year, this stood at 19 505.

The total number of cases that were recorded with police inefficiencies over the first quarter of the current financial year stood at 63. Of this 26 (41.3%) were GBV matters; assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm at 20 (31.7%); rape accounted for 10 (15.8%) cases; contravention of protection orders accounted for 7 (11%) cases; robbery aggravated accounted for 6 (9.5%) cases; attempted murder accounted for 5 (7.9%); and possession of firearms accounted for 4 (6.3%) cases.

Minister Allen added, “It is of utmost importance that we have a police service that consistently delivers professional work. All persons should experience the same quality of service from SAPS, regardless of who they are, or where they come from. It has to be seen that justice is served and that no secondary victimisation occurs. Many of our residents experience trauma, and the one service that should not add to it is the SAPS.”

Minister Allen continued, “This report once again points out why SAPS should be devolved to a capable government such as ours. The national government will continue to fail these dedicated men and women in blue, particularly at station and detective level. We are already demonstrating through LEAP how we are strengthening SAPS’ hand, and once SAPS is under our management, we will ensure that our stations and detective services are capacitated, so that these types of matters are effectively dealt with.”

The Premier said that the ultimate aim of the CWB is to have a police service that is professional, effective, and efficient. “We want to strengthen our relationship with the SAPS and help our women and men in blue wherever we can to make our province a safe and prosperous one,” he concluded.