SUBMISSION TO PARLIAMENT: IPID BILL 2010 Prepared by: PROF M MONTESH & MR SI DINTWE

Police complaints system has changed significantly over the years BACKGROUND Police complaints system has changed significantly over the years

cont Over this period, complaints handling has developed from a fairly marginal area of police activity to a publicly prominent specialism accorded considerable priority and greatly increased resources (Maguire & Corbett 1991:6) A good legislation is therefore a way to go hence we support the current Bill

Cont In South Africa, the creation and operation of the ICD is not without challenges An earlier publication by Montesh and Dintwe (2008:172-173) listed a number of challenges to the current civilian oversight in South Africa

Challenge 1 Lack of independence

Challenge 2 Duplication of functions with other law enforcement agencies

Challenge 3 Delayed policing powers

Challenge 4 Limited mandate and jurisdiction

Challenge 5 Lack of powers to force institutions to comply and implement findings

Challenge 6 Limited accessibility to the public

SUBMISSIONS Chapter 1: Independence and accountability

Cont Ideal: Chapter 9 institution Appointment of ED by the minister vs. appointment of the Heads of Chapter 9 institutions Political independence not guaranteed (e.g. Dept of Communications) Same minister as the one where the Police reports

SUBMISSIONS Cont… Chapter 2: Appointment of the ED (rank and or/ level)

Cont… Bill is silent about the level of the ED Currently, a Deputy Director General oversees the activities of a Director General (the General of SAPS) This poses protocol issues that may hamper the oversight processes There are reports of deliberate ignorance by senior police officials already

SUBMISSIONS Cont… Chapter 5: Provincial offices

Cont Inaccessible to the public. No mention of satellite offices in the Bill (Section 19) If not legislated, it may not be enforced In 2000, the police had 140 000 members which meant that 30 ICD members had to handle 800 cases of suspicious deaths alone (Perez 2000:60)

Cont ICD has nine Provincial offices and a plan to incorporate satellite offices It is not sufficient as SAPS have about 1300 Police Stations and a number of satellite stations (Dintwe & Montesh 2008:173) This exhausts ICD budget quickly The level of Provincial Heads needs alignment

Chapter 6: Appointment of investigators In order to avoid recruiting from the same institution that you want to investigate, we suggest that the Act make provision for the length of training level (basic). A good example is the ICAC of Hong Kong Model.

Recruitment & selection, …cont (Section 22)

Remuneration & conditions of service (Section 23) We believe that there should be no comparison with SAPS members. Rather compare with the rest of the Public Service. Please ensure that the basic conditions are in line with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act as Bargaining Councils agreements.

Types of matters to be investigated (sect 25 (c)) Station Commissioner: STATION COMMANDER Corruption to be defined so that it does not only focus on issues of bribery only.

Conflict of interest (section 26…) Conflict of interest is not clear in the Act. The Act needs to identify what may be a conflict of interest, what to do when a gift is offered, the completion of forms/registers indicating companies that you are linked with.

Integrity measures (sect 27) This section is very controversial. We believe that it is not going to pass a constitutional test. Methods and procedures to be used in ensuring that the process is legitimate is unclear. Random blood sampling, is a clear violation of employee rights.

Vetting We are of the opinion that should be done in terms of Chapter 5 of Minimum Information Security Standard (MISS) OF 1996. We are satisfied with the procedure used by NIA.

Chapter 7: Finances & Accountability (Section 28) We believe that Minister should be replaced by Parliament. This will minimise political interference

Chapter 9: Regulations, Section 32: There is too much on SAPS. This does not sure maturity and independence. Departments consulted: We are not convinced by your level of consultation. Which Unions did you consult? Why can’t you mention their names?

General We have taken note of the National Commissioner’s Comments on the incorporation of the Metro Police which is line with the ANC Conference resolutions of 2007. But what about the Provincial Traffic Police, Local Authorities Traffic Police, and Municipal Police agencies? This is clear.

THANK YOU