THE police have been accused of not taking significantly key policing initiatives, together with defending their very own weapons from theft.
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police took the management of the SAPS to activity yesterday because the police appeared earlier than the committee.
The police met with the committee to current an annual efficiency plan (APP) and strategic outlook for 2025/26. The committee members delivered a scathing critique of the plan, describing it as “uninspired” and “astonishing.” They expressed grave concern concerning the feasibility and credibility of key efficiency targets, describing them as missing urgency and element.
Committee chairperson Ian Cameron mentioned the APP “initiatives a scarcity of urgency in overcoming crime and attaining the targets of the Nationwide Improvement Plan.” He highlighted the unreasonably low homicide detection price goal of 11.33% as notably disturbing. “The goal basically implies that just about 9 out of ten homicide circumstances could go unresolved over the following monetary 12 months,” mentioned Cameron. “This determine was offered with out qualifying methodology and stands in stark distinction to authorities’s acknowledged goal of halving violent crime by 2029.”
The committee additionally flagged SAPS’ intent to scale back misplaced or stolen police-issued firearms by simply 10%, a goal it deemed grossly insufficient. “The truth that the police are aiming to scale back this determine by solely 10% highlights a scarcity of dedication to tackling the proliferation of firearms on our streets,” Cameron mentioned.
Considerations have been additionally raised concerning the lack of timeframes and accountability mechanisms for addressing key points, together with car shortages at station stage and the capacitation of 10111 name centres. “With out these timeframes, the committee and provincial legislatures shall be unable to carry out enough oversight,” he mentioned.
Cameron was additionally skeptical of the SAPS’ aim to construct 200 police stations over 5 years, citing a scarcity of funds readability and timelines. “A plan with out these vital parts doesn’t give confidence that the goal shall be achieved.”
Regardless of these considerations, the committee welcomed SAPS’ plans to recruit 4,000 detectives, put money into body-worn cameras, and help GBV and FCS items. Nevertheless, it warned that “measurable enhancements should be tangible over time and commensurate with the investments made.”
The committee has instructed SAPS to return with a revised plan that units “credible, justifiable and publicly defensible targets.”
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