‘Catch, prosecute, clear’: DA plans inspection visits to police stations

The DA will conduct a nationwide investigation to determine whether police stations and units for domestic violence, child protection and sexual offenses have the necessary resources to properly assist victims of gender violence and violent crime.

This follows after Geordin Hill-Lewis, the leader of the DA, visited the Mabopane and Winterveld areas on Wednesday together with Cilliers Brink, the party’s mayoral candidate in Tshwane.

Hill-Lewis says that after the review visit he asked DA MPs and public representatives across South Africa to make review visits to police facilities in their communities.

“We want to determine whether police stations and the relevant units have the forensic kits, detectives and basic resources needed to support victims of gender violence and violent crime.

“We will then compile and publish the findings of the nationwide investigation as soon as they have been completed.”

Human costs of a collapsing criminal justice system

Hill-Lewis says the visit to Tshwane highlighted anew the “human cost of South Africa’s shrinking and faltering criminal justice system”.

“Today I met an elderly rape victim who has been waiting for justice for over three years. I met a mother whose son has been missing for years and we also spoke to residents and members of community policing forums.

“These stories show the devastating impact of a criminal justice system that no longer functions properly. People lose faith that criminals will ever be caught and punished.”

Mama Elizabeth’s story is a heartbreaking reminder of how the criminal justice system is failing South Africans. 3 years later, her case has still not come to court, and investigating officers have not even had the decency to be in touch with her.

Her story underscores why we… pic.twitter.com/PEmBXVA82L

— Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl) June 3, 2026

Hill-Lewis says that the DA has already made disturbing findings during review visits nationwide in the past two weeks.

According to him, Ian Cameron, Nicholas Gotsell and Lisa Schickerling, all three DA MPs, visited several police facilities where serious shortages came to light.

“In some facilities, officers had to ration or even borrow sex-offense evidence kits from other stations. Nor could police clearly indicate whether the right kits were available in the right places when victims needed them.”

He warns that these deficits hamper investigations already in the first phase of evidence collection.

“The lack of these pieces of evidence undermines rape and sexual crime investigations right from the first step of evidence collection. This means that perpetrators will probably never be convicted, which creates a cycle in which the same criminals are repeatedly released and re-offend.”

‘Catch, convict, clear’

Hill-Lewis believes that South Africa will never win the fight against violent crime and sexual offenses without proper investigations and successful prosecutions.

“If we are to win the fight against violent crime and sexual crimes, we must catch perpetrators. And when we catch them, they must be successfully prosecuted and convicted. This requires competent investigations and proper evidence gathering.”

He says the police itself must also be urgently reformed.

“We must clean up the police so that corruption and criminality in the ranks do not paralyze law enforcement.”

According to Hill-Lewis, the DA’s approach is simple: “Catch. Convict. Clean up. This is how the DA will reverse policing in South Africa.

“A government that cannot ensure that the right pieces of evidence are available at the right time at the right police station cannot claim to be serious about getting violent criminals off the streets and into prison.”

Victims abandoned

Hill-Lewis also referred to the extent of gender violence in South Africa.

“In a country where a woman is raped every 12 minutes, no victim should arrive at a police station only to hear that the state is not ready to help her put together a case.”

He says South Africans deserve a criminal justice system that supports victims rather than abandoning them.

“The DA has shown that competent government can restore order, improve service delivery and give people hope again. Now we must bring the same standard to the national government, fix the police and build a country where South Africans can live without fear.”