Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said more than 4 000 claims have been made against officers. (Supplied/SAPS)
- The SAPS is facing more than 4 000 civil claims valued at more than R2.2 billion.
- The police ministry has described the number of claims as “undesirable”.
- Experts say the claims are a sign of ill-discipline among SAPS members.
Crime experts say the fact that the South African Police Service (SAPS) might have to cough up more than R2.2 billion in civil claims for wrongful arrests and detentions for the 2023/24 financial year shows there’s is ill-discipline within the police service.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, responding to a parliamentary question this week, called the situation “undesirable”.
Mchunu said while more than 4 000 claims had been made against the SAPS, he did not expect the full R2.2 billion bill to be paid out.
Mchunu’s spokesperson, Kamogelo Mogotsi, told News24 that the minister “acknowledges the concerns raised regarding the 4 000 wrongful arrests and over R2 billion in claims against the SAPS in the past year”.
“This is an undesirable situation, and the ministry is fully aware of the need for a thorough review of this worrying trend. The issue will be addressed as part of the agenda in an already scheduled meeting with legal services this coming Friday, where we will discuss necessary steps to ensure accountability and prevent further occurrences. The ministry is committed to improving the efficiency and fairness of law enforcement practices,” said Mogotsi.
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However, experts say the number of claims points to ill-discipline among police officers.
Gareth Newham, the head of justice and violence prevention at the Institute for Security Studies, said with the funds set aside for civil claims, the police could appoint thousands of new officers or purchase hundreds of new vehicles.
“They could improve the digitisation of the central firearms registry, hire specialist investigators or increase the Crime Intelligence budget by 50%. You could do a lot with that money,” he said.
Last year, the police paid more than R600 million to victims of proven unlawful police conduct, said Newham, a significant growth from the R104 million paid out in 2012.
“It shows that police management systems are not able to ensure that police officers are held accountable,” he said.
The lack of accountability for police officers who act unlawfully is one of the factors fuelling corruption and police brutality, Newham believes.
Irvin Kinnes from the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Criminology said it should be “no surprise” that SAPS has set aside such a hefty amount for contingent liability, as the amount has hovered around that mark for the past few years.
“It’s an indicator of how the SAPS is dealing with the public.
“And it raises the issue of police brutality, especially if we consider the number of people dying at the hands of police, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal,” Kinnes said.
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News24 previously reported that more than 30 people had been killed during shootouts with the police in KwaZulu-Natal in less than four months.
“Police are supposed to uphold the law. Yet we’re seeing emerging patterns rising out of some provinces, where groups of people are being shot and it’s [the levels of gun violence are being seen as] OK. The police have the responsibility to arrest suspects,” said Kinnes.
“Our organised crime picture at the moment is of such a nature that they need to be smarter. The budget and the amount actually paid out are indicators of the levels of discipline in the SAPS.”
In the 2022/23 financial year, 12 842 new civil claims with a total value of R65 billion were registered against the SAPS.
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According to the SAPS’ 2022/23 annual report, a total of 4 243 payments – from court orders and settlements – totalling R647 million were dispatched that financial year, with arrest-and-detention claims accounting for the highest payouts (R548 million).
At the end of March 2023, 51 085 claims valued at R108 billion were still pending, which included unresolved claims from previous years.
The 2023/24 annual report is not yet available.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe previously told News24 that “various interventions have been implemented” to manage civil claims. These include training interventions, improvement of control measures and strengthening processes such as disciplinary action and the recovery of costs.