1. Observations on SAPS Plans 2012/13
Lisa Vetten

2. Reducing contact crimes
Reduce contact crimes by 4 – 7% annually
Confuses reporting to the police with a charge being laid; and incidence of a crime with its reporting rate
1 January – 31 June 2007: 45 454 domestic violence incidents reported, 17 633 reports resulting in criminal charges.
Acornhoek: 942 complaints collected from hospital, courts and police station but only 63 resulted in charges
Rape: 1 in 9 cases reported (2002); 1 in 11 reported (Gauteng 2010); 1 in 3 men interviewed for the Gauteng study admitted to having perpetrated rape.

3. SAPS murder data (adult women)
SAPS must disaggregate crime data especially ‘sexual offences’. Lumping all 59 sexual offences together clouds analysis.
SAPS murder data (adult women)
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Thus, while murders of men declining, women increasing
Rape (needs to be disaggregated by age and sex):
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4. Can SAPS detail HOW they are reducing rape and domestic violence.
Significant rates of non-compliance with DVA recorded by ICD – sometimes leading to an increase in domestic violence (eg. Woman stabbed 17 times by husband after police refused to arrest him) – very doubtful a reduction in real terms
Not within SAPS’ capability to reduce such crimes on a large scale – but can reduce by identifying and arresting serial rapists, or enforcing protection orders to prevent repeat violence.
Strongly urge SAPS and Committee to rethink reduction targets in relation to rape and domestic violence.

5. Alternative visible policing indicators
Performance indicators must also monitor compliance with legislative duties eg DVA (compare indicators dealing with firearms)
Station audits = no of stations 100% compliant with DVA
Also essential that indicators measuring quality of service to complainants be introduced
No of officers trained in DVA and victim empowerment AND who can pass both theoretical and practical tests in this regard.

6. Detectives: FCS Units
Need for resources to be allocated to the FCS units noted in SAPS Strategic Plan 2010 – 2014
What are these resources specifically – material and human?
Have these been allocated?
As a matter of policy, debriefing must be made available to FCS Units, preferably not by SAPS members.
In general commend the effort being put into further developing detectives’ skills.
Concerns around measuring detection and conviction rates.

7. Calculating detection rates
No. of cases referred to court + no. of cases withdrawn by the police + no. of cases declared unfounded
Divided by cases reported and carried forward
Aggregate of how cases are disposed of – not a measure of victims’ access to justice, nor a reflection on the quality of the police’s work. To victims there is a vast difference between having one’s complaint go to court (which implies that an arrest has been made), having the police withdraw one’s complaint, or having one’s complaint treated as lacking in substance and merit (unfounded).

8. No. of charges resulting in a guilty verdict + Charges concluded by other means
Divided by no. of charges referred to court + charges previously outstanding in court
SAPS’ approach to calculating conviction rates different to that applied by the DoJ&CD so it not possible to compare the two departments’ figures in this regard.
Conviction also depends upon quality of the prosecution so perhaps not entirely fair to treat a conviction as only reflective of the police’s performance.

9. Where cases fall out of the process (Gauteng 2003)
50.3%
Arrested
42.8%
Charged
17.3%
Trial
6.2%
Convicted

10. Found guilty of any sexual or assault-related offence
6.2%
Young girls
10.1%
Teenage girls
7.6%
Adult women
4.7%

11. What is missing to support FCS’ good work
Uniform members in CSC have no knowledge of SOA. Attitudes in many instances still leave much to be desired. Statement-taking skills also very limited. Victims sometimes speaking to up to 6 officers before getting to FCS detective.
Stations not maintaining all paperwork stipulated by National Instructions
General detectives continue to investigate sexual offences especially where victim an adult. Knowledge of SOA also limited.

12. Victim Empowerment Centres
An area desperately in need of policy
Who should manage these centres? Police are not equipped to train and supervise people providing psycho-social services
No policy regarding the management, training and recruitment of volunteers
Referral mechanisms – sometimes being used as dumping grounds

13. Concluding recommendations
Review of performance indicators
Need to develop policy, strategy and norms and standards around policing of gender-based violence setting out:
Infrastructure and services
Training, skills and competencies
Number and recruitment criteria of personnel
Strategies to be employed in responding to such violence
Appropriate performance indicators
Designation of specially-trained CSC members to be first contact