1. STRATEGY TO REDUCE CASE BACKLOGS TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON POLICE
DRAFT 2
STRATEGY TO REDUCE CASE BACKLOGS
PRESENTATION
TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON POLICE
14 June 2011, Parliament
PROGRAMME 2

2. Table of contents Definitions Historical causes External causes
Strategic priorities and strategic oriented goals
Interventions to reduce case backlogs
Total case backlog /11
Provincial breakdown of backlog cases per class (1 April 2010)
Provincial performance breakdown (1 April 2010 – 31 March 2011)
Provincial breakdown of backlogs per class (1 April 2011)
Priorities for 2011/12
Action plan
Current and future steps

3. Definitions
Backlogs refer to cases where investigations have not been completed over the time period set in terms of the strategic plan.
Completion refers to processes which the ICD can control and influence such as visiting of a scene, attendance of post mortem and obtaining affidavits.
Finalisation refers to a process of completion and include technical reports such as post mortem, ballistic, DNA analysis etc and recommendation reports are made for submission to the Director of Public Prosecution or SAPS Management.

4. Historical causes
The following issues, which are historical in nature, were identified as factors that contributed to the problem of backlogs:
The strategy to investigate every reported complaint – the general dealer approach
Lack of adequate investigative capacity
Increase in time spent attending court (1031 days during 2010/11)
Late notification / non reporting of cases

5. External causes
Factors beyond the control of ICD and which influences completion of cases include -
Cases that are reported in the last quarter of the financial year are unlikely to be completed within the current financial year
Complexities of some cases – each case presents its own unique challenge
Completion of some cases (i.e. investigation of deaths, rape, attempted murder) are dependant on cooperation by external stakeholders
SAPS (Forensic analysis such as ballistic reports, DNA analysis)
Department of Health (Post mortems, Histology tests)

6. Strategic priorities and strategic outcome oriented goals
Strategic Plan 2010/13
The reduction of backlogs was identified as a strategic priority for the 2010 – 2013 MTSF period - (page 9 of the ICD Strategic Plan 2010 /13)
The primary objective was to improve service delivery in the ICD’s investigation services
2010/13 Target: To decrease backlogs to no more than 10% of the previous year
Strategic Plan 2011/16
One of the strategic oriented goals of the department for the period is to finalise more cases and to reduce existing backlogs – (page 12 of the ICD Strategic Plan for 2011/16)

7. Interventions to reduce case backlogs
Review of business process
A review of business process relating to complaints handling was undertaken during 2010
The business process was made user-friendly and easy to understand
The different phases of complaints processing were clearly identified
The various role-players (Case Workers, Supervisors and Provincial Head) and their responsibilities were identified and clarified
Provincial Annual Performance Plans
In addition the strategic priorities of the department, each provincial annual performance plan has an additional strategy to complete their backlog by the end of the 2nd quarter of the new financial year
The individual APP indicates the backlog brought forward from the previous financial year

8. Interventions to reduce case backlogs- continued
Restructuring of the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee
to effectively monitor and evaluate performance by provinces on a monthly and quarterly basis
to conduct audits to ensure compliance with the SOP and that targets are met by each province
to make recommendations to the Executive Director for interventions where necessary
Establishment of dedicated Task Teams to assist provinces which experience heavy workload, for example -
A team of three (3) Investigators was deployed to assist the Mpumalanga Provincial office with investigation of complaints of torture in the KwaMhlanga area
Two (2) Investigators were deployed to assist the abovementioned province with the complaints emanating from the service delivery protests in Ermelo

9. Interventions to reduce case backlogs- continued
New case management system (Flow Centric)
Early warning mechanism that escalates information to the Supervisor of the Case Worker in cases of non-performance or delays
Easy re-assignment of cases by Supervisors
Provide management reports on individual and provincial performance
Ensures compliance with the SOP
Ensures quality control
Generation of updated statistical reports which can be drawn on a daily, weekly and monthly basis

10. Total case backlog - 2010/11 Provinces Backlog by 1 April 2010
Eastern Cape
160
Free-State 97
Gauteng
506
KwaZulu-Natal
729
Limpopo 53
Mpumalanga
219
North West 38
Northern Cape 13
Western Cape
676
Total
2491

11. Backlog (carried over) as at 1 April 2010 per province and per class
Provinces
Deaths
DVA
Offences
Misconduct
Total
Eastern Cape 61 6 65 28
160
Free State 1 37 59 97
Gauteng 46
130
329
506
KwaZulu-Natal
241 13
255
220
729
Limpopo 19 53
Mpumalanga 3
143 20
219
North West 18 38
Northern Cape 10
Western Cape 74
188
377
676
Grand Total
482 60
876
1073
2491

12. Changes in backlog per province 1 April 2010 – 31 March 2011
DRAFT 2
Changes in backlog per province 1 April 2010 – 31 March 2011
Provinces
Backlog at 1 April 2010
Backlog at 31 March 2011
% changes cases
Eastern Cape
160 33
-79%
Free-State 97 31
-68%
Gauteng
506
185
-63%
KwaZulu-Natal
729
267
Limpopo 53 23
-57%
Mpumalanga
219
187
-15%
North West 38 7
-82%
Northern Cape 13 6
-54%
Western Cape
676
340
-50%
Grand Total
2491
1079

13. Backlog (carried over) as at 1 April 2011 per province and per class
Provinces
Death Cases
Domestic Violance
Criminal cases
Misconduct Cases
Total
Eastern Cape 12 18 3 33
Free-State 1 6 24 31
Gauteng 15
108 62
185
KwaZulu-Natal 88
130 49
267
Limpopo 2 13 8 23
Mpumalanga 36 20
187
North West 5 7
Northern Cape
Western Cape 44 21
153
122
340
Grand Total
198 22
569
290
1079

14. Priorities for 2011/12
The Programme will continue to prioritise the reduction of backlog cases and improvement of output during the 2011/12 financial year through -
Constant and effective monitoring and evaluation of performance on a monthly basis by the Programme Manager and the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee
Review of monthly performance reports especially with regard to backlogs
Audits of the backlog cases as reported by the province. A detailed audit programme by the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee has already been drawn for implementation and will commence during in July 2011
Interventions when required
Monthly audits of backlogs by Provincial offices
Monthly reporting to National Office on progress made towards completing the cases

15. Action plan Action Responsible Person Date 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Evaluate the level of performance on backlog during April 2011
Programme Manager and M & E Committee
31/05/2011 2.
Evaluate the level of performance on backlog during May 2011
15/06/2011 3.
Identify the need to deploy additional resources to assist in completion of backlog
20/06/2011 4.
Deploy a Task team to assist the identified offices
1/07/2011 5.
Allocate the backlog cases to the Task team
Provincial Head 6.
Report weekly on progress made towards completion of backlog
Provincial Head & Task team Leader
Weekly 7.
Provide monthly report on completed workload
Provincial Head and Task Team leader
Monthly

16. Current and future steps
Provinces have a target to complete backlog cases within 6 months of the new financial year
Provinces will report on backlog performance in their monthly performance reports
Complainants will be provided with monthly feedback regarding progress made towards completion of their cases
Quarterly reporting on backlog cases is included in the Provincial Annual Performance Plans for 2011/12

17. Thank you