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

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

3. 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

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

5. Challenge 1
Lack of independence

6. Challenge 2
Duplication of functions with other law enforcement agencies

7. Challenge 3
Delayed policing powers

8. Challenge 4
Limited mandate and jurisdiction

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

10. Challenge 6
Limited accessibility to the public

11. SUBMISSIONS
Chapter 1: Independence and accountability

12. 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

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

14. 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

15. SUBMISSIONS Cont…
Chapter 5: Provincial offices

16. 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 members which meant that 30 ICD members had to handle 800 cases of suspicious deaths alone (Perez 2000:60)

17. 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

18. 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.

19. Recruitment & selection, …cont (Section 22)

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

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

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

26. 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?

27. 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 But what about the Provincial Traffic Police, Local Authorities Traffic Police, and Municipal Police agencies? This is clear.

28. THANK YOU