The Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Police on the performance of the Department of Police for the 2010/11 financial year, dated 20 October 2011.

 

The Portfolio Committee on Police (the Committee), having considered the performance of the Department of Police (the Department), reports as follows:

 

1.         Introduction

 

1.1.       Structure of the Report

 

The Report is structured as follows:

 

·         Section 1: Introduction - contains information on the role of the Portfolio Committee on Police, particularly with respect to the BRRR process, as well as the mandate of the Department of Police.

·         Section 2: Strategic Priorities and Measureable Objectives of the Department of Police - highlights the objectives as contained both in the Five-year Strategic Plan, as well as the 2010/11 Annual Performance Plan.

·         Section 3: Analysis of the Strategic and Annual Plans of the Department - provides information on amendments that were made to these Plans impacting on targets.

·         Section 4: Analysis of Section 32 Expenditure Reports - deals with spending priorities of the Department for 2010/11, as identified during the 2010 budget process; provides an overview of the Adjusted Appropriation and an analysis of the 3rd and 4th quarter expenditure reports for 2010/11. A brief summary of expenditure for the 1st quarter of 2011/12 is also included.

·         Section 5: Analysis and Overview of the Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2010/11 - contains information on programme performance, the financial statements and the Report of the Auditor-General.

·         Section 6: Consideration of the Reports of the Standing Committee of Public Accounts - The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) did not deal with issues related to the Department of Police in 2010/11.

·         Section 7: Consideration of Other Sources of Information - includes information on the 2010 State of the Nation Address as pertains to the Department of Police, as well as information on the key findings contained in oversight and other reports of the Portfolio Committee on Police related to the 2010/11 financial year. This section also identifies key recommendations made in the previous BRRR tabled in October 2010.

·         Section 8: Observations of the Portfolio Committee on Police - contains information on observations of financial performance, as well as performance per programme.

·         Section 9: Conclusion - provides an overall assessment of financial and service delivery performance for 2010/11.

·         Section 10: Recommendations - highlights recommendations made by the Committee in terms of financial issues, future annual reports, strategic plans and annual performance plans; as well as recommendations pertaining to particular programmes.

 

 

1.2.       The role of the Committee

 

Mandate

 

Guided by  our interest to promote effective, efficient and professional policing in South  Africa and our desire to see a reduction in crime, our mission is to represent and act as a voice of the people in fulfilling the constitutional function of:

 

·         passing legislation;

·         scrutinising and overseeing executive action and organs of state such as the Department of Police, Secretariat for Safety and Security, Independent Complaints Directorate, and the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority;

·         facilitating public participation and involvement in the legislative and other processes;  and

·         engaging, participating and overseeing international treaties and protocols.

 

Section 5 of the Money Bills Procedures and Related Matters Amendment Act, No. 9 of 2009:

 

Each year, as part of its oversight function, the Committee considers the Annual Report of the Department of Police. The Money Bills Procedures and Related Matters Amendment Act sets out the process allowing Parliament to make recommendations to the Minister of Finance to amend the budget of a national department. As part of this process, Portfolio Committees are now required to compile Budgetary Review and Recommendation Reports (BRRR) in October of each year, containing recommendations relating to funding allocations for the departments. The BRRRs are also a source document for the Standing Committee on Finance, which makes recommendations to the National Assembly on the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). The annual review and analysis of performance (financial and non-financial performance indicators) form part of this process.

 

The following is the methodology the Committee followed in arriving at this report:

 

The Committee has scrutinised and interrogated all the documents as outlined in Section 5 of the Money Bills Amendment Procedures and Related Matters Act, 2009, with a view to assessing the performance of the Department of Police in the 2010/11 financial year, as well as performance in the first two quarters of the 2011/12 financial year.

 

In addition, the Committee has received submissions on the Annual Report of the SAPS for 2010/11 from outside experts, including the Institute for Security Studies, Tshwaranang, as well as the Office of the Auditor-General. Hearings were held with the Department of Police over a four-day period during which the Department presented on its performance for 2010/11, both in terms of service delivery targets, as well as in terms of its financial statements. During these hearings, the Department also reported on progress made during the first two quarters of 2011/12. 

 

In its assessment of the performance of the Department of Police, the Committee has also been guided by the primary information that it has gathered during oversight visits undertaken during 2010/11 and the first two quarters of 2011/12. The Committee has undertaken oversight visits to police stations in KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng during this period, as well as oversight visits to the Bishop Lavis Training College in the Western Cape and the Chatsworth Training College in KwaZulu-Natal.

To assist the Committee in its visits to police stations, and when individual Members visit police stations, the Committee uses its Station Monitoring Tool, which provides for systematic gathering and analysis of information on service delivery and performance at the stations. The Committee, in its oversight function, has also held a number of meetings during this period in which it has interrogated the Department on key issues of interest to the Committee. 

 

Lastly, the Committee has been guided in its analysis by its own annual strategic plans for the 2010/11 and 2011/12 years. These focus areas of the Committee largely emanate from the broader strategic priorities of Government during the respective time periods.  Key focus areas of the Committee for this time period included:  Processing of the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill (fingerprints), the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service Bill and the Independent Police Directorate Bill; police training, recruitment and skills retention; and property management and capital works.

 

1.3.       The Department of Police

 

The mandate of the SAPS is derived from Section 205 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996). The objectives of policing are to:

 

·         prevent, combat and investigate crime;

·         maintain public order;

·         protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic and their property; and

·         uphold and enforce the law.

 

The Vision of the Department is to:

 

·         create a safe and secure environment for all the people of South Africa.

 

The Mission of the Department is to:

 

·         prevent and combat anything that may threaten the safety and security of any community;

·         investigate all crimes that threaten the safety and security of any community;

·         ensure offenders are brought to justice; and

·         participate in efforts to address the root causes of crime.

 

2. Strategic Priorities and Measurable Objectives of the Department of Police

           

2.1        The Strategic Plan 2010 to 2014

 

In order to assess the performance of the Department for 2010/11, it is necessary to situate their performance in terms of the prevailing 5-year plan governing their action during that period, namely the 2010 to 2014 Strategic Plan. The 2010 to 2014 Strategic Plan specified four operational strategic priorities for the medium term. These are:

 

·         Crime Prevention: A focus is placed on reducing crime levels, specifically of the “trio crimes” and crimes against women and children, and development and implementation of a comprehensive crime prevention strategy focusing on the reduction of illegal firearms, and addressing substance abuse. Increasing the visibility of SAPS personnel members is an additional priority. Additional focus areas include: improving police response, improving crime perception management, increasing the effectiveness and integration of border management, policing incidents of a public disorder or security nature, and combating corruption. The medium-term target for the Crime Prevention Strategic Priority is focused on:

o        The reduction of levels of all serious crime by between 4-7% over the medium-term period.

o        The reduction of levels of contact crime by 34% over the medium-term period

o        The reduction of trio crimes by 31% over the medium-term period.

 

·         Investigation of Crime: The focus of this priority is the effective investigation of reported crime within South Africa, with a focus on detection and the court-ready case docket rates.  The Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) is a key operational capacity within the SAPS and capacity must be established and developed within this environment. This Directorate will focus on crimes that are a national priority, such as serious economic crime, with a key consideration being the combating of cyber-crime and identity theft, corruption and organised crime. A number of steps will be taken to improve the Criminal Justice System (CJS) as a whole in line with this key priority of Government.  Increasing the capacity and professionalism of detectives will include increased recruitment and increasing the skills of detectives via the elimination of training backlogs and the retraining of existing detectives. With regard to certain priority crimes, particularly crimes against women and children and stock theft, the Department will establish specialised units to deal with these crimes, and also ensure allocation of resources to these units. The medium-term targets include:

o        Increase the detection rate for contact crimes to 57,5%.

o        Increase the detection rate for trio crime to 34%.

 

·         Support to the Investigation of Crime: This priority will include an increased focus on improved forensic services and processing of fingerprint evidence, and capacitating the Criminal Record and Forensic Science Service. The increase in performance relating to forensic and fingerprint evidence is dependent on improving of the systems related to the processing of these categories of evidence. The Department will roll-out war rooms with a particular emphasis on provinces that have high levels of violent organised crime.

o        The target focus over the medium term will be an incremental increase of the targets relating to the processing of forensic and fingerprint evidence, which currently stand at 92% and 76%, respectively.  

 

·         Crime Intelligence: Crime Intelligence will emphasise intelligence operations pertaining to serious crime, including contact and trio crimes, syndicates involved in drug and people smuggling, and human trafficking. The capacitating of crime intelligence so as to ensure improved service delivery will address the improvement of skills at various levels and the retention of these skills.

 

In terms of the three organisational priorities:

 

·         Human Capital Development: Skills development and the retention of skills will be a priority over the period 2010 - 2014. Existing training and skills retention practices and strategies will be revised to ensure the creation of pools of skilled personnel within the SAPS in order to meet future skill needs. The developing of additional training programmes to create pools of skilled personnel and a review of the current Scarce Skills Policy will be undertaken. The Department will also develop and implement training courses for Commanders at station level to not only provide them with the operational and tactical skills relevant to these jobs, but also to skill them in the management of their personnel. There will be a transition from volume-based recruiting to the more focused recruiting of individuals with skills that are required by the Department in its key areas of functionality. The transformation of the SAPS must be progressed as a matter of urgency. The drive to ensure the achievement of the required 2% target of people with disabilities within the SAPS will also be enhanced.

 

·         Budget and Resource Management: Enhancement of asset management, including critical items such as vehicles and vests. The building of new police stations, the renovation of existing ones and the provision of accommodation in accordance with the determined need, will be prioritized in line with the operational priorities and objectives of the SAPS. It will, however, be important that the improvement of infrastructure is conducted in a co-ordinated fashion, that available budgets are fully utilized, and that contracting and subsequent service delivery are done in accordance with relevant legislation. The management of existing assets will be guided by the development of an Immovable Asset Management Plan to comply with the Government Immovable Asset Management Act, 2007.

o        For this period the Department aims to build a total of 30 new police stations, 20 newly re-established stations, 63 re-established stations and 31 repaired and upgraded police stations.

 

·         Enhancing Information Systems and Information and Communication Technology: The developing, sustaining and implementation of information systems and information and communication technology over the medium-term will be directed, on the one hand, towards the requirements that the SAPS has in this regard, given its operational and support strategic priorities; and, on the other hand, to the system and information requirements of the Criminal Justice System. Projects include:

o        System to ensure records and data on corruption crimes across the CJS.

o        Database of victims across the CJS.

 

2.2.   Measurable Objectives of the Department of Police for 2010/11

 

The following is a summary of the key measurable objectives of the Department for 2010/11 per programme against which performance in that financial year should be measured. Note that the targets reported here are contained in the Annual Performance Plan of the South African Police Service (2010/11) and are selective and based on the Committee’s focus areas, as well as the priorities of the Department and Government.

 

Programme

Sub-programme

Target

Administration

 

 

80% of learners declared competent after completion of 2010/11 training

 

 

100% bullet proof vests distributed (19 358 planned for).

 

 

Maintain/improve ratio of personnel to vehicles (4.51:1)

 

 

Not less than 95% of police station projects completed in 2010/11 (42 police station projects to be completed)

 

 

70% of IS/ICT projects to be completed in 2010/11

Visible Policing:

 

Crime Prevention

Additional 79 police stations rendering a victim friendly service (from a  base line of 802)

 

 

Serious crime reduced by 1 to 1.8% ( from 2.1 million charges as baseline in 2008/09)

 

 

Contact crimes reduced to 1 288 per 100 000 (from 1407 per 100 000 in 2008/09)

 

 

Trio crimes reduced to 90 per 100 000 (from baseline of 97.1 per 100 000 in 2008/09)

 

 

Decrease number of incidents of escapes from police custody by 50% from baseline of average of 762 incidents from 2006/07 to 2008/09.

 

Borderline Security

Conduct a minimum of 350 policing activities (baseline of average of 225 actions in 2008/09)

 

Specialized Interventions

Stabilize 95% incidents in 2010/11 (baseline of 80 to 90% incidents stabilized from 2006/07 to 2007/08)

Detective Services

 

Crime Investigations

 

Detection rate for all crime categories between 43-60%. (baseline of 42.86% between 2006/07 and 2008/09)

Percentage of court ready case dockets for all crime categories to be determined.

 

 

Detection rate for commercial crime of 40-50% (from baseline of 38.69% in 2008/09)

Court ready case dockets for commercial crime of 30-40% (from baseline of 26.68% in 2008/09)

 

 

50% of Organized Crime Projects successfully terminated (from baseline of 40% in 2008/09)

 

 

Crimes against women detection rate of 68-75%. (from baseline of 67.47% in 2007/08 and 2008/09)

Percentage of court ready case dockets for crimes against women to be determined.

 

 

Crimes against children detection rate of 76-80%. (from baseline of 75.14% in 2007/08 and 2008/09)

Percentage of court ready case dockets for crimes against children to be determined.

 

Criminal Record Centre

76% conviction reports generated within 30 days. (from baseline of 75.25% in 2008/09)

 

Forensic Science Laboratory

92% of exhibits analysed within 35 days. (from baseline of 91.73% over 35 days in 2006/07 to 2008/09)

Crime Intelligence

 

 

Maintain or increase the number of operations/investigations conducted from baseline of 8 103 cluster operations and 6 559 ad hoc operation (as achieved in 2008/09)

 

 

Maintain or increase operations analysis reports from baseline of 62 500 and research and other reports from baseline of 78 000 (as achieved in 2008/09)

Protection and Security Services

 

Ports of Entry

Conduct a minimum of 3 848 planned actions (baseline of 2 380 planned actions in 2008/09)

 

VIP Protection

100% protection without security breaches (baseline of 98%)

 

Static and Mobile

100% protection without security breaches and 100% safe delivery (baseline of 98%)

 

Railway Police

Reduce contact crimes reported by 8.5% (from baseline of 3 333 crimes in 2008/09)

 

Government Security Regulator

Appraise 50% of 207 strategic installations and evaluate all 165 national key points.

 

3. Analysis of 2010/11 Strategic and Operational Plans of the Department

 

The following issues can be noted with regard to the measurable objectives/targets set for the 2010/11 financial year:

 

·         Many of the targets for court-ready case dockets (with the exception of court-ready case dockets for commercial crimes) were not set for 2010/11, as these had not yet been determined. Therefore none of these targets are measurable for the 2010/11 financial year.

·         The targets for conviction rates for all crimes (set at 15% for 2009/10) and commercial crimes (set at 35% for 2009/10), which were contained in the 2009/10 Annual Performance Plan, have been removed. The Committee has raised this concern with the Department, and understands that some aspects of conviction are not entirely within the control of the Department. However, there is still some value in this target, if used in conjunction with other targets.

·         A number of specific targets in the Crime Prevention sub-programme with regard to control over illegal firearms and drugs were removed. The Committee is concerned that these targets were removed in the 2010/11 Plan in the light of the continued priority of Government in this regard.

·         The cases-to-court target for Organized Crime was removed from the 2010/11 Plan, which now only allows measurement for a target on termination of projects. The removal of this target, without providing for another target (such as court-ready case dockets) is a concern, as the project’s target does not actually measure whether there is improvement in detecting and combatting organized crime.

·         Many of the baselines have not yet been established and therefore the targets are not measureable for 2010/11. Thus, the baseline for court-ready case dockets for corruption has not been set, and there is therefore no measure in the 2010/11 Plan for corruption.

·         The target for conviction reports for the Criminal Record Centre (CRC) was decreased from 85% in 2009/10 to 76% in 2010/11.

·         Reaction time (which is been measured at station level) is not used currently to measure police performance in the Plan but is probably one of the most accurate measures of service delivery performance, especially for Visible Policing. It measures available vehicles and the effective use of these vehicles, and sufficiency of number of visible police personnel, amongst other factors. The Committee has urged the Department to include this as a measure and notes that information on response time has, for the first time, been included in the 2010/11 Annual Report. This measure should also be included in the Annual Performance Plans.

 

4.         Analysis of Section 32 Expenditure Reports

 

4.1.       Spending priorities

 

Key spending priorities for 2010/11 as identified by the Department at the beginning of the 2010/11 financial year included:

 

·       Expanding personnel capacity in specific areas, including detectives and crime intelligence, with a focus on quality rather than quantity.

·       A focus on skills development, particularly for detectives.

·       Intensifying the focus on technology, including the Criminal Justice Review, the Integrated Justice System modernisation project and the hosting and network upgrades.

·       Improving physical infrastructure.

·       Vesting and resourcing of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI).

·       Security for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

·       Engaging in communities in support of policing.

 

4.2.       Overview of Department of Police Budget 2009/10-2011/12

 

Programme

Budget 2009/10 (Audited outcome)

Budget 2010/11

(Adjusted allocation)

Budget 2011/12

(Voted)

Administration

16 009.5

18 067.0

20 215.0

Visible Policing

21 247.2

23 228.2

24 371.9

Detective Services

7 534.1

8 850.3

9 810.9

Crime Intelligence

1 658.0

1 947.6

2 117.0

Protection and Security Services

1 213.6

1 436.6

1 546.7

Total

R47 622.5

R53 529.7

R58 061.5

 

4.3.       2010/11 Adjusted Appropriation

 

The Department received an appropriation of R52.6 billion for 2010/11, which increased by an additional allocation of R973.3 million during the 2010/11 financial year to a total adjusted appropriation of R53.5 billion. The following table highlights the key shifts that were made by October 2010 as reflected in the Adjusted Estimates of National Expenditure for 2010.

 

Table: Virement and Additional Allocation per Programme in 2010.

Programme

R’000

Main Appropriation

Virement and Shifts

Additional Allocations

Adjusted Appropriation

Administration

18 167 072

(100 112)

-

18 066 960

Visible Policing

20 702 464

100 112

698 351

21 500 927

Detective Services

8 757 701

 

92 556

8 850 257

Crime Intelligence

1 886 902

 

60 733

1 947 635

Protection and Security Services

3 042 301

 

121 660

3 163 961

Total

52 556 440

 

973 300

53 529 740

 

The only virement that was recorded in the Adjusted Estimates was an amount of approximately R100 million that was shifted from Programme: Administration to Programme: Visible Policing to pay for overtime and allowances during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. There were no funds shifted from other Programmes. The R100 million that was shifted from Programme 1 to Programme 2 was taken from Goods and Services and motivated as a ‘reduction on computer services’.

 

In addition to the R100 million virement, a further R193.9 million was shifted to Compensation of Employees to pay for the overtime and allowances for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The total amount shifted to pay for overtime and allowances for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was thus R294 million.

 

Two amounts were shifted within Programme 2 to the total of R193.9 million. One amount of R174 million was shifted from Goods and service’ to Compensation of employees. This shift is relatively unproblematic as Goods and Services falls under Current Payments.

 

However, it is of concern that, within Programme 2: Visible Policing, funds amounting to R19.887 million were shifted from Payments for Capital Assets (Machinery and equipment) to Current Payments (Compensation of Employees) – a shift that is in contravention of section 43(4)(c) of the PFMA (Public Finance Management Act, 1999). This shift was executed with the approval of National Treasury.  Section 43(4) (c) reads: “This section does not authorise the utilisation of a saving in an amount appropriated for capital expenditure in order to defray current expenditure.” Note that indirectly Parliament approved this shift, as it approved the Adjusted Estimates Bill.

 

4.4.       2010/11 Virement

 

Virements that occurred in the 4th quarter following the Adjustment Appropriation are reflected in the following table:

 

 

Voted funds

Adjusted Appropriation

Virement

Final appropriation

Administration

18 167 072

18 066 960

(194 993)

17 871 967

Visible policing

20 702 464

21 500 927

201 700

21 702 627

Detective Services

8 757 701

8 850 257

17 866

8 868 123

Crime Intelligence

1 886 902

1 947 635

 

1 947 635

Protection and Security Services

3 042 301

3 163 961

(24 573)

3 139 388

Total

52 556 440

53 529 740

 

53 529 740

 

These virements were attributed to:

 

·         later Polmed payment and redirection of money allocated to Eastern Cape Tetra system to other programmes;

·         anticipated overrun of Compensation of Employees budget (Crime Prevention) and over commitment to Borderline Security sub programme; and

·         overrun of budget for Compensation of Employees- Crime Investigations.

 

Overrun in capital spending was due to capital purchases in the Forensic Science Laboratory and Criminal Record Centre (FSL/CRC) environment (initially made under Goods and services).

 

4.5.       Spending in 2010/11 up to the end of the 3rd Quarter

 

The Department was allocated a total budget of R53.5 billion for the 2010/11 financial year. At the end of the third quarter, it had managed to spend R38.9 billion or 72.84% of the allocation. This, according to National Treasury, amounted to an overall under-expenditure of R1.15 billion or 2.16% for the 3rd quarter.

 

Expenditure: Capital assets: The total allocation for capital assets was R2.7 billion, and at the end of the 3rd quarter, the Department had spent R1.6 billion or 59.62% (compared to 78.1% in December of the previous year).

 

Expenditure: Goods and services: Goods and services were allocated a total amount of R12.1 billion. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Department had spent R8.0 billion or 67.65%. This lower expenditure is attributed to ‘low spending on Integrated Justice System (IJS) projects’.[1]

 

Expenditure: Programmes: In terms of Programmes, key under expenditure up to the end of the 3rd quarter was under Programme 1: Administration (spent 69.3%) and Programme 3: Detective Services (spent 70.2%).

 

·         Programme 1: Administration: While the Programme as a whole lagged behind in spending, the sub-programme Management recorded an expenditure of 101.3% by December 2010, attributed to ‘early retirement packages for many senior officials who had resigned’.[2]

·         Programme 2: Visible Policing: The Programme spent 76.7% of its allocation but recorded under-spending in Machinery and equipment (55%). This was attributed to the delivery of capital items, such as vehicles, that normally occurs in the 4th quarter. Borderline Security had spent 93.9% of its allocation attributed to the purchase of a specialised helicopter for patrol purposes. Higher than anticipated spending in Provinces and municipalities was a result of ‘non-anticipated payment of licence discs for vehicles’.[3]

·         Programme 3: Detective Services: This Programme spent 70% of its allocation by December 2010. Both the Criminal Record Centre and the Forensic Science Laboratory incurred lower spending of 57% and 60% respectively. This was attributed to lower spending on Criminal Justice System projects. Machinery and equipment incurred very low spending of only 12%, attributed to delivery of vehicles that only takes place in the 4th quarter.

·         Programme 4: Crime Intelligence: This Programme spent 74% of its budget. National Treasury notes that Goods and services incurred 88% spending ‘due to operating expenditures being higher than anticipated’, and that this will put this line item under pressure towards year-end. Households incurred expenditure of 103.9% large due to ‘the high number of social benefits paid to persons on retirement’.[4] Low spending due to vehicles delivered in the 4th quarter was also noted (27% on Machinery and equipment).

·         Programme 5: Protection and Security Services: This Programme spent 73.5% of its budget. Low spending due to vehicles delivered in the 4th quarter was also noted (10.1% on Machinery and equipment).

 

In terms of earmarked funds the following was noted:

 

·         The modernisation of the Integrated Justice System (IJS) was allocated a total amount of R1,2 billion (R1.116 billion) for 2010/11. However, at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2010, only R252 million or 21.6% of the earmarked amount of R1.2 billion had been spent. The Department assured Parliament that full spending would occur by the end of the 4th quarter.

·         A total amount of R1.848 780 billion was earmarked in 2010/11 for expenditure on the devolution of funds from DPW. A total of R1.5 billion (83.3% of the earmarked amount) was spent by end of December 2010.

·         A total amount of R878 492 million was earmarked in 2010/11 for expenditure on the construction and upgrading of police stations. The actual expenditure by end December 2010 was R912 million (103.9% of the earmarked amount).

 

4.6.       4th Quarter Expenditure Report

 

By the end of the 4th quarter the Department had spent almost 100% of its budget with a negligible under-spending of R40 thousand. The Integrated Justice System programme, which had been alerted as a serious concern during the 2010/11 year, spent 100% (R1.16 billion) of its earmarked funds for 2010/11.

 

The Department recorded 100% expenditure for all Programmes. However, in terms of economic classification of items the following can be noted:

 

·         Compensation of employees: 100% expenditure.

·         Goods and Services: 95% (R11.3 billion). The under-spending was attributed to budgetary provision for capital purchases that was erroneously placed under Goods and Services. This money was shifted to Payments for capital assets.

·         Payments for capital assets: 119.3% (R3.3 billion) against an adjusted appropriation of R2.8 billion. Over-expenditure was for capital purchases of the Criminal Justice Sector programmes in the Forensic Science Laboratory and Criminal Record Centre environment.

·         Transfers and subsidies: 114% (R500 million) against a budget of R438 million. Over-expenditure was attributed to unforeseen early retirement packages, more civil claims against the state than anticipated, and high volume of licence disc renewals in the 3rd quarter.        

 

4.7.       Spending for the 1st Quarter of 2011/12

 

The Department of Police received R58. 0615 billion for 2011/12. The highest real increases were allocated to the Administration programme (which increased by 6.76%) followed by the Detective Service programme (which increased by 5.78%). The total nominal increase for 2011/12 was 8.47%, which is a real increase of 3.5%.

 

Overall, the Department of Police had spent R17,8 billion or 30.6% of the total budget by the end of July 2011.

 

In terms of funding for 2011/12, the Department stated that:

 

·         Additional amounts of R76 million, R126 million, R112 million, R78 million and R20 million per Programme had been requested from National Treasury and that these had only been made to cover increased conditions of service and technical aspects of covering costs of cleaners (who are now hired internally instead of through labour brokers) and to cover the cost of the local government election.

 

The Department stated that the budget allocation for 2010/11 was sufficient - ‘a credible baseline’. Key spending priorities and deliverables were, in their opinion, achieved. The Department stated that they had expanded sufficiently in terms of personnel, IS/ICT, and human resource development. Challenges were acknowledged by the Department in the Detective environment and in the Crime Intelligence environment, as well as at station level; especially in relation to command and control, SAPS 13 stores and archives. In the Visible Policing environment, the Department stated that the administration of firearms needed more attention and the quality of dockets needed to be improved, which impacts on detection.

 

The Department stated that, as management, they needed to relook at their systems and processes to ensure that they could improve on areas of poor performance. They stated that many of the issues raised by the Committee had also been identified by management and they needed to look at processes and strategies to improve, in order to deliver good quality services to the communities.

 

5. Analysis of the Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Department of Police for 2010/11

 

5.1.       Programme 1: Administration

 

Performance against set targets

 

Administration consists of the Ministry, Management, Corporate Services and Property Management sub-programmes.

 

The Adjusted Appropriation for Administration in 2010/11 was R18 066 960 of which R17 871 935 billion was spent. The expenditure increased by 11.6% compared to the R16 009 520 billion spent in 2009/10.

 

Performance against set targets

Target

Actual

80% of learners declared competent after completion of 2010/11 training

90.2% of learners declared competent after completion of their training. (Target Achieved)

100% bullet resistant vests distributed (19 358 planned for).

105% (20 372) vests distributed including 2 129 inners and outers. (Target Achieved)

Maintain/improve ratio of personnel to vehicles (4.51:1)

Personnel=193 892; vehicles= 49 287. Ratio of personnel to vehicles 3.93:1 (Report states that target not met but target was actually exceeded)

Not less than 95% of police station projects completed in 2010/11 (In terms of the Performance Plan 42 police station projects were to be completed)

As nine of the 42 projects were completed in previous financial years the target was actually for 95% completion of 33 projects. 57.58% (19 out of a total of 33) were completed. (Target not achieved).

70% of IS/ICT[5] projects to be completed in 2010/11

An average of 75.7% projects completed. (Target achieved).

Target

 

80% of learners declared competent after completion of training

Training Categories

Attendees

Competently Completed

Difference

Entry-level (basic training for lateral entrants in SAPS)

409

368 (90%)

41

Entry-level Basic Semester 1 (basic training for new recruits / intake)

3826

3825 (99.9%)

1

Entry-level Basic Semester 2 (basic training field training)

5812

5241 (90.2)

571

Management and Leadership

4108

3948 (96.1%)

160

Operational

145379

130150 (89.5%)

15229

Support

16804

15623 (92.3%)

1181

Reservists

2532

2195 (86.7%)

337

Total

178870

161350 (90.2%)

17520

 

Capital works projects: Only 19 of the 33 police facilities were completed within the timeframe stipulated as completion by the end of 2010/11. Reasons given for non-completion of some projects included:

·         Re-advertisements of bids.

·         Delayed installations of amenities.

·         Non-delivery/poor performance of contracts resulting in change of contractors during the project cycle.

·         Contractor not on schedule.

·         Delayed close-out of projects (Completion certificate issue).

 

Fourteen projects were rolled over to the 2011/12 financial year. Of these 14 projects, four projects are still in Mora (Diepsloot, Tweefontein, Amalia and Pretoria Operational Response Services Centre). Eight of the remaining projects have been completed, while two are still incomplete to date. These two incomplete projects are Roodeplaat Dog Unit and Letsitele Police Station.

 

Training: The number of personnel who attended (178 870) and completed (161 350 or 90.2%) training in 2010/11 is lower when compared to the cumulative total of 231 205 employees who attended training in 2009/10.

 

In terms of training of detectives:

 

·         A total of  329 out of 1 341 members trained in Basic Crime Investigative Practice were declared competent upon completion of their training.

·         A total of 355 members were trained and declared competent upon completion of the Resolving of Crime course (ROCC) training.

·         A total of 1 615 out of 1 628 members completed specialised detective training competently.

·         A total of 4 488 out of 4 625 members completed short intervention training courses competently.

 

According to the Department, a total of 1 384 detectives will receive ROCC training in 2011 (the former Detective Learning Programme), thus reducing the existing backlog of 4 845 untrained detectives to 3 461 by the end of the 2011/12 financial year. These will be trained over the subsequent two financial years.

 

Vehicles: A personnel-to-vehicle ratio of 3.93:1 was achieved for 2010/11 and a total of 6 741 vehicles were purchased. The Department noted that they still need to ensure more effective distribution of these vehicles, noting that, for example, in the detective environment, detectives still complain that they do not have sufficient vehicles. All vehicles were procured with maintenance plans and an optimization plan for SAPS Garages is ongoing.

 

Bullet-Resistant Vests: A total of 205 834 bullet-resistant vests were uniquely marked. Ongoing efforts are made to ensure accuracy of asset registers.

 

Discipline and corruption: The SAPS 2010/11 Annual Report states that 5 471 misconduct and disciplinary hearings were finalised during this period in comparison to a total of 4 136 cases that were finalised in 2009/10. The following table shows the outcomes of finalised misconduct and disciplinary hearings.

 

Disciplinary Action

2009/10

2010/11

Correctional Counselling

136

179

Demotion

2

0

Dismissal

506

520

Final Written Warning

263

474

Fine

917

1160

Suspended Dismissal

670

1034

Case Withdrawn

869

721

Not Guilty

272

685

Suspended Without Pay

33

28

Verbal Warning

67

77

Written Warning

401

593

Total

4136

5471

 

In 2010/11 a total of 476 SAPS members were charged for, among other things, defeating the ends of justice, fraud, aiding and abetting an escapee, bribery and extortion, compared to 2009/10 when 362 members were charged in terms of the Department’s disciplinary regulations and in accordance with the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004.

 

Financial performance:

 

Programme

Voted

Virement 4th quarter

Final Expenditure

Administration programme

18 167 072

(194 993)

17 871 935

 

In terms of spending during 2010/11 in the Administration programme, the Department reports that R2.9 billion was spent on Information Technology, R1.4 billion on Human Resources, R919 million on Personnel Services, R3.9 billion on Medical Support and R3.1 billion on Supply Chain Management of which R1.182 billion was for Capital Works.

 

In terms of key spending priorities the Department reported that:

 

·         R264.1 million was spent on the Integrated Justice System programme of earmarked funds.

·         R1.1 billion of earmarked funds for the Criminal Justice System Revamp were spent, including R460 million for IT and R440 million for operational aspects of the FSL/CRC.

·         R600 million was spent on upgrading of the network, hosting and infrastructure environment.

·         R72.4 million was spent on rollout of the Automated Vehicle Location System.

·         R16.1 million was spent on software to enhance the Firearms Control System.

 

In addition, it is reported that:

 

·         R1 432 097 billion was spent on transport assets (vehicles) in 2010/11 (increasing from R1 035 695 billion in 2009/10).

·         R145. 662 million was spent on computer equipment in 2010/11 (decreasing from R159.819 million in 2009/10).

·         R22. 473 million was spent on office equipment/furniture in 2010/11 (decreasing from R30.494 million in 2009/10).

·         R174. 522 million was spent on other machinery and equipment in 2010/11 (decreasing from R194.920 million in 2009/10).

 

In terms of IS/ICT:

 

·         Investigation Case Docket Management: 70% complete

·         Property Control and Exhibit Management (PCEM): 70% complete

·         Detention Management: Tender evaluation in progress

·         Criminal Justice Information Sharing project: 90% complete

·         Case docket information sharing capabilities: 90% complete

·         Data management to capture KPI information: 100% complete

·         Cluster dashboard: 90% complete

·         Corruption perpetrator project: 70% complete

·         Crime victims project: 70% complete

·         Identity theft information: 70% complete

·         Cybercrime information: 70% complete

·         Action request for service project: 70% complete

 

Seven service levels agreements were signed with the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) in 2010/11 (including Hosting; Network; Application Maintenance and Development Services; Decentralised Network and IT equipment support; Specialised Consulting services). Service level agreements to the value of R1.2 billion were paid and the total revenue received by SITA from SAPS was R1.42 billion.

 

5.2.       Programme 2: Visible Policing

 

Performance against targets

 

Visible Policing consists of the sub-programmes Crime Prevention, Borderline Security and Specialized Interventions, which includes the Air Wing and Special Task Force

 

Target: Crime Prevention

Actual 

Additional 79 police stations rendering a victim friendly service (from a base line of 802)

 

10 additional victim support rooms established. (Target not achieved). 900 Victim Support rooms in total

Serious crime reduced by 1 to 1.8% ( from 2.1 million charges as baseline in 2008/09)

 

Serious crime reduced by -2.4% (Target achieved)

Contact crimes reduced to 1 288 per 100 000 of the population (from 1407 per 100 000 in 2008/09

Contact crimes reduced to 1 277 per 100 000 of the population. Target achieved.

2009/10 % reductions/increases

 

murder -7.2%

Sexual offences -3.1%

Attempted murder -4%

Assault GBH -0.7%

Common assault +2.3%

Robbery aggravated - 6.3%

Common robbery - 2%

 

2010/11

reductions/increases

 

murder -6.5 (-5.3)%

Sexual offences: -4.4 (-3.1)%

Attempted murder -12.2 (-11.0)%

Assault GBH -4.5 (-3.3)%

Common assault-7.1 (-5.8)%

Robbery aggravated-12.0 (-10.8)%

Common robbery -5.9 (-4.6)%

 

Trio crimes reduced to 90 per 100 000 of the population (from baseline of 97.1 per 100 000 in 2008/09)

 

Trio crimes reduced to 84 per 100 000 of the population (Target achieved).

Decrease number of incidents of escapes from police custody by 50% from baseline of average of 762 incidents from 2006/07 to 2008/09.

Escape incidents reduced by 20.6%. (Target not achieved)

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

664

(980 persons escaped)

719

(1 144 persons escaped)

602

(857 persons escaped)

478

(669 persons escaped)

 

Target: Borderline Policing

Status 

Conduct a minimum of 350 policing activities (baseline of average of 225 actions in 2008/09)

261 policing actions conducted. (Target not achieved).

Target: Specialised Interventions

Status

Stabilise 95% incidents in 2010/11 (baseline of 80 to 90% incidents stabilised from 2006/07 to 2007/08)

97.2% incidents stabilised. (14 807 incidents attended of which 14 387 were stabilised). (Target achieved).

 

Sector Policing: By the end of September 2010 sector policing had been rolled out to 208 of the 209 (99.5%) provincial priority stations. Sector policing was not fully implemented at Tarlton Police Station (Gauteng) due to insufficient resources and the non-existence of community policing sub-forums in the sectors. By the end of March 2011 sector policing had been introduced to 986 (88%) of the 1 120 police stations. Thus a total of 134 police stations had not established sector policing by the end of the financial year. KwaZulu-Natal (38) and Free State (24) have the most police stations which still need to implement sector policing.

 

Reservists: While the moratorium on recruitment of reservists was lifted in December 2009, new reservists had not been recruited, pending a review of the Reservist System. In 2010/11 a total of 1 245 already-serving reservists were appointed as permanent members in the SAPS. Of the 64 360 members that made up the Reserve Police Force by the end of March 2011, only 26 259, who performed at least 16 hours duty per month, were considered as active reservists. A total of 2 195 or 86.7% (out of 2 532 reservists) completed reservist training competently. A new reservist system will be implemented in two phases implemented concurrently, and the biannual recruitment drives will be implemented from February 2012.

 

Murder of police officials: 93 members (0.048% of the staff complement) were murdered in 2010/11 in comparison to 101 (0.053%) in 2009/10.

 

Firearms Control System: The Minister of Police commissioned an enquiry into the functioning of the Central Firearm Register in June 2010. Certain sections of the Firearm Control Amendment Act were implemented on 10 January 2011. The number of firearms in SAPS 13 stores was reduced from 210 451 in March 2010 to 179 574 in March 2011.

 

Firearms: The following information is contained in the Report:

 

·         The number of official SAPS firearms losses reported by SAPS in 2010/11 decreased to 1 335 from 3 814 in 2009/10.  However, only 167 or 12, 5% of official SAPS firearms were recovered in 2010/11. At the end of March 2011 there were 42 official firearms that not been returned by SAPS members who had left the employ of SAPS.

·         9 427 other firearms were reported stolen compared to 11 982 in 2009/10.

·         Surrendered firearms: A total of 20 404 legal firearms and 175 944 rounds of ammunition were surrendered voluntarily, compared to 38 153 legal firearms and 371 060 rounds of ammunition surrendered in 2009/10.

·         Illegal firearms: In 2010/11 a total of 19 327 firearms and 255 924 rounds of ammunition were recovered by SAPS compared to 21 268 firearms and 295 085 rounds of ammunition recovered in 2009/10.

·         Firearm destructions: In 2010/11 SAPS destroyed 46 527 compared to 167 240 in 2009/10.

 

Support to victims: Only 10 of the 79 targeted Victim Support Rooms were established during 2010/11. An additional 17 park homes were made available for this purpose. The explanation for not meeting the target of establishment of an additional 79 Victim Support Rooms is that there was insufficient budget due to commitments for the FIFA world Cup. A total of 58 compliance visits to monitor the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act at police stations took place in 2010/11.

 

Borderline policing: Arrests at Borderlines decreased with respect to vehicles, drugs and undocumented persons but increased slightly for firearms and illegal goods. Fewer firearms, vehicles and drugs were seized. The decreases are ascribed to criminals using alternative routes as a result of high visibility and deployment of members over the past 3 years.  At total of 11 bases were handed over with no issues outstanding. Three bases (Beitbridge, Muzi and Blenheim) were closed down in totality with no deployments.

 

Public Order Policing: There was a high number of peaceful and unrest crowd management incidents (12 651 in 2010) in comparison to 8 907 in 2009/10 and 6 965 in 2008/09.

 

Special Task Force: A total of 196 operations were conducted, of which all were successfully resolved. 68 potential incidents did not materialize.

 

Financial performance:

 

Programme

Voted

Virement 4th quarter

Final/Expenditure

Visible Policing Programme

20 702 464

201 700

21 702 627

 

In terms of key spending priorities the Department reports that:

 

·         The number of personnel in this environment decreased from 98 522 in 2009/10 to 97 693 in 2010/11.

·         The expenditure on the reservist system decreased from R128,1 million in 2009/10 to R93.9 million in 2010/11.

·         The expenditure on Borderline control decreased from R217, 8 million (which was spent especially on detached duties, vehicles, fuel and oil) in 2009/10 to R194.7 million in 2010/11

·         R642 million was spent on security deployments for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

 

5.3.       Programme 3: Detective Services

 

Performance against set targets

Targets

Actual

Detection rate for all crime categories between 43-60%. (baseline of 42.86% between 2006/07 and 2008/09)

 

Percentage of court ready case dockets for all crime categories to be determined. (JCPS target =35% by 2014)

51.84% (1 092 861) (Target achieved).

 

 

30.84%  (155 933)

Detection rate for commercial crime of 40-50% (from baseline of 38.69% in 2008/09)

 

 

 

Court ready case dockets for commercial crime of 30-40% (from baseline on 26.68% in 2008/09)

68.4% (44 023 charges, 3 585 withdrawal of charges and 1 290 charges unfounded) (Target achieved, but increase attributed to changed calculation method).

 

25.6% (2 304 court ready cases). (Target not achieved)

50% of Organised crime projects successfully terminated (from baseline of 40% in 2008/09)

30.3% of projects successfully terminated (Target not achieved).

Crimes against women detection rate of 68-75%. (from baseline of 67.47% in 2007/08 and 2008/09)

 

Percentage of court ready case dockets for crimes against women to be determined. (JCPS target =35% by 2014)

71.2% (159 440) (Target achieved).

 

 

34.85% (26 922)

Crimes against children detection rate of 76-80%. (from baseline of 75.14% in 2007/08 and 2008/09)

 

Percentage of court ready case dockets for crimes against children to be determined.

77.42% (5 267) (Target achieved)

 

 

21.66% (12 549)

76% conviction reports generated within 30 days. (from baseline of 75.25% in 2008/09)

81.46% (994 020 of a total of 1 220 205) generated within 30 days. (Target achieved).

92% of exhibits analysed within 35 days. (from baseline of 91.73% over 35 days in 2006/07 to 2008/09)

 

93.5% (297 955 of a total of 318 665) analysed within 35 days. (Target achieved)

Percentage of court ready case dockets for charges of corruption to be determined.

35.04%

 

Increases are noted in the detection rate for all broad crime categories, though some of these are very marginal. The marginal increases in detection rate are compounded by relatively low court-ready case docket percentages achieved. According to the Department, quarterly monitoring of Detection Rates and Court-Ready cases has been implemented, so that interventions can be made in a timely manner.

 

Personnel: There are 4 182 female detectives in the detective services and 147 564 cases were allocated to them, of which 7 890 were so called ‘high profile cases’. A total of 116 Detective Court Case Officers (DCCO) was assigned to courts to check the quality of cases.

 

Crime against women and children: One Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offence unit was established in each of the 176 Clusters. A total of 951 vehicles were allocated to the FCS units, resulting in the criteria of one vehicle for every two detectives been met in the FCS environment. The units consisted in total of 2 082 personnel, including 1 864 operational staff, of which 744 were females and 1 120 males. More females will be recruited in the future. The FCS dealt with 284 cases and 278 accused, which emanated in 306 life sentences.

 

Stock Theft: Stock Theft units have increased from 74 to 81. There are 850 personnel in these units. A total of 9 391 arrests were made in 5 568 cases.

 

Criminal Record Centre: A total of 574 additional personnel were appointed in 2010/11 (increasing to 548 and 547 in 2011 and 2012 respectively). These included 356 constables with maths and science, 18 assistant forensic analysts and 143 public service personnel. Performance increased in all areas with the exception of manual services. A total of 10 additional service points were established. The Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) has been converted to Oracle to improve performance. The database increased from 7 to 8 million persons, the fingerprint search capacity increased from 8 750 to 15 000, and the system can now complete 11 000 to 12 000 searches per 15-hour period in comparison to 8 750 searches per 22-hour period in 2009/10.

 

Forensic Science Laboratory: A total of 126 additional personnel were appointed in 2010/11 (increasing to 202 and 253 in 2011 and 2012 respectively). The backlogs in this environment were reduced to 16 200 at the end April 2011 and then even further, to 3 278 as at September 2011. The Biology backlog has been reduced by 82.7%.

 

Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI): The DPCI consisted of 2 260 operational members and 575 support staff, totaling 2 835 members, of which 823 are women. Two targets were not achieved during 2010/11, including the commercial crime target and the termination of registered organised crime project target. An Integrity Management Unit was established to provide for screening of members in the Directorate. A total of 603 members were trained and attended eight courses.

 

Financial performance:

 

Programme

Voted

Virement 4th quarter

Final Expenditure

Detective Programme

8 757 701

17 866

8 868 123

 

In terms of key spending priorities the Department reported that:

 

·         The number of personnel increased from 33 651 in 2009/10 to 37 402 in 2010/11.

·         Criminal Justice System (CJS) Revamp: The earmarked amount in 2010 was split between ISM (R460 million for IT in the FSL/CRC environment) and R440,9 million for operational aspects in the FSL/CRC, increasing to R1.850 and R1.9 billion in 2011 and 2012 respectively. This expenditure was spent on minor expansions, personnel development, and consumables, including training interventions to the value of R10.7 million, criminal record and crime scene management, equipment for the laboratories, and technology.

·         R100,9 million was spent on operational matters in the DPCI. R238.6 million was spent on the Commercial Crime units and R556.2 on the Organised Crime units.

 

5.4.       Programme 4: Crime Intelligence

 

The adjusted appropriation for Crime Intelligence in 2010/11 was R1.947 626 billion which is an increase of 17.5% compared to the R1.658 018 billion received in 2009/10.

 

The purpose of this Programme is to manage crime intelligence, analyse crime information and provide technical support for investigations and crime prevention operations. The strategic objective of this Programme is to contribute to the neutralising of crime by gathering, collating and analyzing intelligence that leads to an actionable policing activity.

 

Performance against set targets

 

Targets

Actual

Maintain or increase the number of operations / investigations conducted from baseline of 8 103 cluster operations and 6 559 ad hoc operation (as achieved in 2008/09)

A total of 24 384 operations (13 351 cluster and 11 033 ad hoc). (Target achieved)

Maintain or increase operational analysis reports from baseline of 62 500 and research and other reports from baseline of 78 000 (as achieved in 2008/09)

115 877 operational analysis reports and 202 099 research and other reports. (Target achieved)

78 000 research, statistical, station and cluster intelligence reports

202 099 research and statistical reports (comprising 6 700 research reports, 64 038 statistical reports and 131 361 station and cluster intelligence reports (Target achieved)

 

The Desks at Crime Intelligence include:

 

·         Contact and General Crimes; Focus areas include trio crimes and cash in transit robberies

·         Counter Terrorism: Focus on right-wing and religious extremists

·         Border Integrity: Cross-border crimes and corruption at Ports of Entry

·         Protective Intelligence: Focus on VIP Protection, National Key Points and major events

·         Domestic Intelligence: Local government and service delivery protests, public safety and stability

·         Financial and Cybercrime Related Crimes: Commercial crime, corruption, cybercrimes and Financial intelligence Centres

 

Financial information

 

Programme

Voted

Virement 4th quarter

Final Expenditure

Crime Intelligence Programme

1 886 902

-

1 947 635

 

In terms of key spending priorities for 2010/11:

 

·         Personnel increased to 8 723 in 2010/11 (from 7 542 in 2009/10).

·         In terms of equipment and operational expenses amounts of R19,9 million (reduced from R33,6 million in 2009/10) were spent on vehicles, R59,6 million (increasing from R57,3 million in 2009/10) on fuel, R29,1 million (increasing from R25 million) on maintenance and repair of vehicles and R29,6 million (increasing from R28,5 million) on telecommunications in 2010/11.

·         An amount of R35 million (decreasing from R39.1 million in 2009/10) was paid to informers from Goods and Services during 2010/11.

 

5.5.       Programme 5: Protection and Security Services

 

Protection and Security Services received an adjusted appropriation of R3.163 961 billion in 2010/11, of which R3.139 388 billion was spent, compared to the R2.690 929 billion spent in 2009/10.

 

This programme indicated an under-spending due to budget surpluses in goods and services and payments for capital assets. The surpluses were shifted to Programme 3: Detective Services.

 

Performance against set targets

 

Targets

Actual

Ports of Entry: Conduct a minimum of 3 848 planned actions (baseline of 2 380 planned actions in 2008/09)

4 008 actions. (Target achieved).

VIP Protection: 100% protection without security breaches (baseline of 98%)

433 protections and 1 security breach. (Target not achieved).

Static and Mobile: 100% protection without security breaches and 100% safe delivery of valuable cargo (baseline of 98%)

Provided at 28 buildings and 83 residences. Total of 8 security breaches (13 in 2009/10). (Target not achieved).

 

Provided to 214 cargos with no security breaches. (No breaches in 2009/10 either). Target achieved).

Railway Police: Reduce contact crimes reported by 8.5% (from baseline of 3 333 crimes in 2008/09)

Reduces by 37%. 2 117 contact crimes were reported in 2010/11 in comparison with 2009/10. (Target achieved).

Government Security Regulator: Appraise 50% of 207 strategic installations and evaluate all 165 national key points.

51.7% (107) installations were assessed. (Target achieved).

One of the 165 key points was not evaluated. (Target not achieved)

 

Fewer arrests and seizures were made at Ports of Entry in all categories in 2010/11 in comparison to 2009/10 (except in seizures of firearms) including firearms, vehicles, drugs, illegal goods and undocumented persons. The Department said that, in 2009/10, the higher deployment of new recruits at the Ports of Entry deterred criminals, as well as intensified international and regional co-operation of law enforcement agencies.

 

Financial information:

 

Programme

Voted

Virement

Final/Expenditure

Protection and Security Services Programme

3 042 301

(24 573)

3 139 388

 

Expenditure in all sub-programmes of the Protection and Security Programme increased in 2010/11.  Key spending priorities in this programme included:

 

·         Decrease in personnel to 16 722 to 2010/11 from 16 966 in 2009/10.

 

5.6.       Financial statements

 

The Department of Police received an adjusted appropriation of R53. 529 740 billion for 2010/11. Additional revenue collected was R287. 737 million (which was less than the R347. 572 million collected in 2009/10) and Aid assistance was received to the amount of R7.516 million. The total revenue for 2010/11 was thus R53. 824 993 billion compared to R47. 974 694 billion in 2009/10.

 

Expenditure for 2010/11 can be divided into Current expenditure of R49. 737 791 billion, Transfers and subsidies of R500.296 million and Expenditure for capital assets of R3. 293 287 billion. The Department spent its entire budget recording only a small surplus of R40 thousand on Voted funds which must be surrendered to the Revenue Fund. However, the total surplus (including Departmental revenue of R287. 737 million) and unspent funds from Aid assistance (R2. 996 million) came to R290. 743 million.

 

 

Voted funds

Adjusted Appropriation

Virement

Final appropriation

Expenditure

Administration

18 167 072

18 066 960

(194 993)

17 871 967

17 871 936

Visible policing

20 702 464

21 500 927

201 700

21 702 627

21 702 627

Detective Services

8 757 701

8 850 257

17 866

8 868 123

8 868 123

Crime Intelligence

1 886 902

1 947 635

 

1 947 635

1 947 626

Protection and Security Services

3 042 301

3 163 961

(24 573)

3 139 388

3 139 388

Total

52 556 440

53 529 740

 

53 529 740

53 529 700

 

Scrutiny of financial statements and the Notes reveals the following:

 

·         A total amount of R7.516 million was received in the form of foreign donor funds/aid assistance. Total expenditure of foreign funds was R4. 239 million in comparison to the much higher expenditure of R13.1 million in the previous financial year. In terms of local funds, the SAPS had an amount of R7. 021 million of Criminal Assets Recovery Account (CARA)[6] funds in its account during 2010/11, of which only R311 thousand was spent (on current expenditure) leaving a balance of CARA funds of R6. 710 million.

·         Expenditure for Compensation of Employees increased from R33.7 billion in 2009/10 to R38.4 billion in 2010/11. A total of R9. 8 million was paid out in performance rewards for 2010/11 in comparison to R191. 210 million paid out in 2009/10. This is a decrease of 94.8%. Rewards were only paid to members of the Civilian Secretariat of Police during 2010/11 for services rendered in 2009/10. The Report notes that ‘due to spending pressure experienced in the compensation environment, essentially for the payment of allowances to members with the hosting of 2010 Soccer World Cup, the Department decided to reprioritise the amount initially reserved for the payment of performance rewards, thus supplementing the provision made for expenses for hosting the Soccer World Cup’. 

·         Expenditure on Goods and Services increased from R10.6 billion in 2009/10 to R11.3 billion in 2010/11. Some noteworthy increases and decreases include:

o        Consultants, contractors and agency/outsourced: Expenditure decreased from R1.44 billion in 2009/10 to R1.38 billion in 2010/11 with notable decreases in Infrastructure and planning (which decreased from R5.3 million in 2009/10 to R883 thousand in 2010/11) and increases in Laboratory services (increased from R137 thousand in 2009/10 to R970 thousand in 2010/11).

o        Computer services: Expenditure increased from R1.987 billion in 2009/10 to R2.051 billion in 2010/11. Expenditure to SITA decreased in 2010/11 from R1.56 billion in 2009/10 to R1.49 billion in 2010/11. However, expenditure on external computer service providers increased from R424.4 million in 2009/10 to R563.1 million in 2010/11. The Department stated that the decrease in SITA payments was as a result of the higher payments in 2009/10 for AFIS and network upgrades. The higher expenditure for external consultants was for more data lines, payments on IBIS upgrade, war-room establishment, IJS expenditure (including PCEM) and case docket administration.

o        Operating leases and owned and leasehold property expenditure: Expenditure on Operating Leases increased from R1.5 billion in 2009/10 to R1.7 billion in 2010/11. Increases can be noted in expenditure for Cleaning Services as well as Safeguarding and Security.

o        Other operating expenditure: Other operating expenditure increased from R417.5 million in 2009/10 to R443.5 million in 2010/11. In 2010/11 payment for informers decreased in comparison to the previous year. In 2010/11, a total of R35.4 million was paid in informer fees in contrast to the R39.2 million that was paid in 2009/10.

·         Expenditure for capital assets totalled R3. 293 287 billion for 2010/11 (increasing from R2. 800 331 billion in 2009/10) and was divided into:

o        Buildings and other fixed structures: R1. 182 141 billion was spent (increasing from R1. 071 712 billion in 2009/10 and R991.150 million in 2008/09). An amount of R63 940 million was moved to Buildings and other fixed structures in the form of virement in the 4th quarter thus increasing the adjusted appropriation of R1. 118 201 billion to R1. 182 141 billion. The total ring-fenced amount for expenditure on the construction and upgrading of police stations was R878 million. The actual expenditure by end December 2010 was R912 million (which was already 103.9% of the earmarked amount). A total of 19 out of 33 police facilities were reported as completed in the 2010/11 financial year.

o        Machinery and equipment: R2. 110 241 billion was spent (increasing from R1. 726 766 billion in 2009/10 and R1. 616 023 billion in 2008/09). R351 thousand of this total expenditure came from Aid assistance.

o        Transport assets: R1. 432 097 billion was spent on transport assets (vehicles) in 2010/11 (increasing from R1 035 695 billion in 2009/10).

o        Computer equipment: R145. 662 million was spent on computer equipment in 2010/11 (decreasing from R159.819 million in 2009/10).

o        Furniture and office equipment: R22. 473 million was spent on office equipment/furniture in 2010/11 (decreasing from R30.494 million in 2009/10).

o        Other machinery and equipment: R174. 522 million was spent on other machinery and equipment in 2010/11 (decreasing from R194.920 million in 2009/10).

o        Biological assets: R905 thousand was spent on Biological assets (which includes dogs) (decreasing from R1.853 million in 2009/10 and R1.996 million in 2008/09).

·         Assets to the value of R542. 550 million were written off in 2010/11 (decreasing from R704.689 million in 2009/10 and R555.080 million in 2008/09).  The majority of these written-off assets were Transport assets – vehicles. The total value of vehicles written off was R463. 342 million (decreasing from R647.787 million in 2009/10 and R463.420 million in 2008/09). Of these total Transport Assets, the cash received was only R1.135 million.

·         Irregular expenditure for 2010/11 totalled R76. 152 million (in comparison to R2. 523 million for 2009/10. This is a huge increase in irregular expenditure of 2,918.3%. Most of this irregular expenditure has been condoned by the ‘Accounting Officer/ BAC’ (Bid Adjudication Committee). A total of R5. 618 million of this R76 million has not yet been condoned, in addition to a total of R1. 258 million from previous years. A total of R6.876 million worth of irregular expenditure is under investigation. By far the highest amount (R5. 618 million) of this amount which is under investigation falls under Renovations (Buildings). Areas in which the highest amounts of irregular expenditure occurred were:

o        Accommodation and meals - R45. 209 million (11 disciplinary cases)- R45.213 million condoned

o        Transport - R12. 629 million (2 disciplinary cases)- condoned

o        Contractors- Artists and performers – R11. 950 million (6 cases)- condoned

o        Catering - R9. 272 million (3 cases); Total amount R9 312- condoned

o        Communication - R3. 769 million (3 cases)- condoned

o        Inventory - R3. 469 million (2 cases)  condoned

o        Advertising - R3. 461 million (2 cases)  condoned

o        Renovation (Buildings) - R554 thousand (4 cases): Total amount R 6. 270 million.  Only R652 thousand condoned.

·         An amount of R771 thousand was incurred as fruitless and wasteful expenditure in 2010/11 (in comparison to R647 thousand in 2009/10). A total of R2. 757 million is still awaiting condonation (including amounts from previous years). In none of the highlighted incidents were disciplinary steps taken. Highest amounts occurred in:

o        Accommodation - R324 thousand

o        Incorrect payments - R225 thousand

o        Licence fees - R216 thousand

·         It is noted that the Sanlam Middestad building lease (to the value of R611. 692 million) has been included as a contingent liability. The total amount of accumulated claims by private parties included as contingent liabilities for 2010/11 were to the value of R11. 044 698 billion (increasing by 47.5 % from R7. 486 819 billion in accumulated claims in 2009/10). These are accumulated claims over the years. Liabilities totally R3. 692 193 billion were incurred during the 2010/11 financial year (increasing from liabilities of R2. 522 463 billion incurred during 2009/10). This is an increase of 46%. A total of R85.6 million was paid in claims during 2010/11 (increasing from R79 million that was paid in 2009/10) and claims to the amount of R660.6 million were cancelled/reduced (compared to claims to the value of R2.8 billion which were cancelled/reduced in 2009/10). The overwhelming majority of claims were for Police actions (R2 666 245 billion worth of new claims during 2010/11 and total claims in this area of R 5 655 552 billion). The second highest area in which private parties are claiming against the Department is for shooting incidents (R439.0 million incurred during 2010/11, which is lower than the total claims of R526.5 million in 2009/10).

 

5.7.       Report of the Auditor-General

 

The SAPS received an unqualified audit opinion for the 2010/11 financial year with one matter of emphasis. The matter of emphasis relates to the lease contract for the Pretoria Sanlam Middestad Building which has been disclosed as a ‘contingent liability’, as the legality of the lease has been taken to court.

 

In terms of legal and regulatory requirements:

 

·         Performance information: The following information was not deemed to be ‘reliable’, i.e. valid, accurate and complete:

 

o        The performance indicator for Programme 2 with regard to number of crime prevention actions focusing on legal and illegal firearms, illegal drugs and stolen/robbed vehicles could not be verified on the OPAM system, as not all crime operational plans had been registered on the system. (Not ‘complete’).

o        The performance indicator of programme 3 ‘Percentage of OCPI successfully terminated’ was inaccurate, as some of these terminated projects were still reflected as active on the system. (Not ‘accurate’).

o        The performance indictor for Programme 2: specialised interventions - number of incidents stabilised is not valid, accurate or complete, as the information captured in the monthly reports differs from the consolidated quarterly reports used for reporting on this indicator. (Not ‘accurate, valid or complete’).

 

Controls put in place subsequent to the audit: Process flows for indicators have been refined and will be workshopped with stations.

 

In terms of compliance with laws and regulations:

 

·         Annual statements and report: The financial statements submitted for auditing did not comply with section 40(1)(c)(i) of the PFMA but were corrected by management. This included non-inclusion of additional irregular expenditure (quotations not obtained, supplies not declaring interest, approval without required information and Police Day) totaling R70 million.

·         Procurement and contract management: The Accounting Officer (the National Commissioner) did not take effective or adequate steps to prevent irregular as well as fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Contract performance was not managed effectively and economically. Some goods and services procured on quotations were not done on a rotation basis. Controls put in place subsequent to audit: Implementation of new Instruction Note from National Treasury, establishment of project management office, from 1 April 2012 electronic database for suppliers - computer generated suppliers on cluster level.

·         Strategic planning and performance management: The National Commissioner did not ensure that the system regarding performance management was effective, efficient, transparent and controlled.

 

In terms of internal controls:

 

·                     Leadership: Commanders at station level responsible for visible policing did not ensure that all required information was captured - i.e. lack of oversight and management over reporting responsibilities. In addition, commanders at cluster level responsible for investigating organised crime did not ensure that all required information was captured - i.e. lack of oversight and management over reporting responsibilities.

·                     Performance management: Commanders at station level did not oversee that crime prevention plans were registered on the system.

 

In terms of other reports, the Report notes that:

 

Investigations: 476 members were charged for corruption. Of these, 263 were suspended (215 with salary and 48 without salary). The remaining 213 were not suspended. A total of 479 charges were brought against members and three members were charged with more than one crime.

 

External investigations: The Public Protector conducted two investigations with regard to the leasing of a building in Pretoria and Durban. The Pretoria building has been noted as a ‘contingent liability’ and at date of the report, there was no lease contract for the Durban building.

 

Report on consultants: The Auditor-General noted in the 2009/10 report that it had begun a performance audit in June 2009 on the use of consultants within the Department. The performance audit is still not yet completed but is in the reporting phase. The findings will be contained in a separate report.

 

6. Consideration of Reports of Committee on Public Accounts

 

The Department did not appear before SCOPA on financial issues during 2010/11. However, the Department did appear before the Standing Committee on Appropriations on 23 March 2011 to account for irregular virement made during the Appropriation period, as well as slow expenditure of earmarked funds for the Integrated Justice System and Criminal Justice System Revamp projects.

 

7. Consideration of other Sources of Information

 

7.1.       Government priorities for 2010 as identified in the 2010 State of the Nation Address

 

In terms of crime, the following priorities were identified in the 2010 State of the Nation Address:

 

·         Reiteration of broad Outcome 3 which is to ensure that all South African’s ‘are and feel safe’.

·         Specific priorities include reduction in serious and violent crime.

·         Ensure efficiency of the justice system.

·         Increase the number of police members by 10% over three years.

·         Prioritize reduction of hijacking, business and house robbery (trio crimes) as well as contact crimes including murder, rape and assault.

·         Ensure community collaboration and partnerships, including encouraging community participation in community safety forums, encouraging communities not to buy stolen goods and providing the police with information about criminal activity.

 

Other priorities include:

 

·         Continued effort to eradicate corruption and fraud in procurement and tender processes.

·         Host a successful Soccer World Cup.

·         Ensure job creation, particularly for young people.

·         Build a performance-orientated state by improving planning, as well as performance monitoring and evaluation.

 

7.2.       Committee Reports

 

During 2010/11 the Committee visited the SAPS Basic Training College in Philippi (19 May 2011); the Inanda Police Station in KwaZulu-Natal (9 June 2010); Umtubatuba, Empangeni, ESikhawini, Estcourt and Kwamashu Police Stations and the Chatsworth Basic Training College in KwaZulu-Natal (July 2010); and Stellenbosch, Cloetesville, Robertson and Atlantis Police Stations and Bishop Lavis Training Academy in the Western Cape (25-28 January 2011). In addition to its report on the Budget 2010/11, the Committee tabled a special report on Property Management and Capital Works within the SAPS (21 October 2011).

 

The Committee recommended in its Budget Report on the 2010/11 budget Vote that the SAPS continue in its quest to reduce serious crime by 7-10% and not 4-7%, as indicated in the SAPS Annual Performance Plan 2010/11.

 

In addition, arising from concerns emanating from this budget process around expenditure on the capital allocation of the SAPS, the Committee embarked on a comprehensive project to ascertain expenditure in comparison to service delivery (output) in the building environment of the SAPS. This process resulted in the tabling of a comprehensive report on Property Management and Capital Works in the SAPS, which highlighted the poor service delivery by the SAPS Building Services and has resulted in major changes in the Building Services environment within the SAPS.

 

Key service delivery issues identified during the oversight visits to police stations and training academies in 2010/11 included:

 

·         Inadequate measures to ensure effective safeguarding and control over both SAPS and exhibit firearms at station level. The presence of amnesty firearms in the stores long after they were meant to have been sent to the provinces for disposal was a serious concern.

·         Poor state of archives and SAPS 13 stores.

·         Inadequate implementation of the relevant legislation passed by Parliament.

·         Community allegations of corruption by SAPS members, particularly detectives. Generally, problems identified amongst the detectives included high numbers of untrained detectives, shortage of detectives and resources allocated to them, and ineffective security of dockets.

·         Ill-discipline was noted both at some of the stations and at the training academies, particularly amongst staff/trainers.

·         Ineffective management at station level, particularly in terms of overseeing the work of staff and ensuring that recordkeeping etc. is in line with requirements.

 

7.3.       Prior BRRR

 

The BRRR tabled by the Committee at the end of 2010/11 contained a number of concerns and recommendations. The key concern in the previous BRRR was around Supply Chain Management, particularly the lack of management information systems, which resulted in the admission by the SAPS management that they lacked knowledge of the quantity and whereabouts of both immovable and movable assets under their control. Key recommendations made in the BRRR tabled in 2010 included:

 

  • Supply chain management and asset management: There is a need for effective systems to be put in place for supply chain and asset management. The SAPS should reassess their entire asset management system. Until they have resolved their problems with the management of assets, the Committee recommends that no additional increases should be made to the budget for capital assets. 
  • Allocation of funds to programmes: There is a need for the Department to have more effective and efficient financial control over funds and allocate these funds correctly and appropriately, at the planning stage. The Portfolio Committee is concerned around the movement of funds between programmes. Shifting funds should be limited and only utilized in exceptional circumstances.
  • Costed operational plans: Costed, detailed Operational Plans, which should include identification of ring-fenced amounts for specific projects for each financial year, should be presented to the Portfolio Committee by March of each year.

 

8. Observations of the Portfolio Committee on Police

 

8.1.       Consideration of financial issues

 

The following are key observations of the Committee with regard to the financial performance of the Department for 2010/11:

 

Irregular expenditure: Due to the large size of the SAPS, less than 5% of the Service is audited by the Auditor-General’s office. Yet, the financial statements reflect a huge increase of 2,913% in irregular expenditure incurred during 2010/11 from R2. 523 million for 2009/10 to R76. 152 million in 2010/11. The Auditor-General ascribes much of this irregular expenditure (which was not initially reported as such by the SAPS) as due to irregularities in accommodation provision in KwaZulu-Natal and Police Day (R37.7 million for the two Police Days - 2009/10 and 2010/11).

 

The Auditor-General’s office indicated to the Committee that the Minister of Police had directed the office to investigate the irregular expenditure. They have reported to the Minister that a forensic audit is required. According to the Auditor-General this irregular expenditure arose from unfair and uncompetitive procurement practices, including not obtaining three quotations, suppliers not declaring their interests, approval without all required information and poor planning. The Department stated that the Police Day irregular expenditure was as a result of not procuring goods though competitive bids, and the majority of the rest of the irregular expenditure was as a result of non-compliance with delegations of authority in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

 

It is a concern to the Committee that this was allowed to occur in the first place (insufficient controls), that the amounts were not initially declared as irregular (an amount of R70 million of irregular expenditure was only included in the statements after the Auditor General directed that this be done), and that they were condoned by the Bid Adjudication Committee. The Committee was very concerned that the Bid Adjudication Committee condones this expenditure on the basis of whether ‘value for money’ was received, irrespective of whether the processes were faulty. Members questioned the qualifications of the members that sit on this committee, as well as the fact that it may be that the people responsible for irregularities themselves in terms of expenditure may be the same persons that sit on this committee and ‘condone’ this expenditure. The fact that the BAC ascertained that ‘value for money’ was received in all cases was seen as very problematic by the Committee. This point of view seems to be supported by the office of the Auditor-General who acknowledged that the Committee should be taking this issue further.

 

The Members requested, in addition, that the Department should provide information on all members that have been disciplined in terms of incurring irregular expenditure. The Department stated that in all incidents where irregular expenditure was condoned by the BAC, the condonement was conditional on investigation of the incident. In the majority of finalised disciplinary cases in this regard, written warnings were issued, while in more severe cases, the investigation in still pending.

 

Contingent liability: The Committee was concerned that the ‘Matter of emphasis’ included in the Report of the Auditor-General - the contingent liability of the Sanlam Middestad lease (to the value of R611 million) as a ‘significant uncertainty’ may be substantially understated. The Department stated that if the court makes a decision that the State is liable, then the funds will have to be found and provided for within the existing baseline. The Department believes that the R611 million is a correct estimate, including escalations.

 

The Committee raised concerns around the high increase in accumulated civil claims liability which is increasing each year. The Department paid R85.6 million in civil claims during 2010/11 in comparison to R79 million in 2009/10. The Committee questioned the steps that have been taken by the SAPS to improve the civil claims environment.

 

Virements: Virements made during 2010/11 fell well within the 8% allowed by National Treasury. However, due to the large budget of the SAPS, when money is shifted between programmes, the actual sums involved can be very high, in fact sometimes as high as the total budget of smaller departments. The Committee has raised this issue in the previous BRRR, and reiterated this concern.

 

Donor funds: Members questioned why the CARA funds which were in the SAPS account for 2010/11 were not utilized in support of victims, particularly for the establishment of victim-friendly rooms. The Department stated that the R7 million was approved for utilization for forensic auditing, chartered accountants and training. The money could only be used for organised crime and commercial crime functions. A total amount of R6 million is committed to a chartered accountant firm for forensic investigations for the DPCI and thus the fund will be depleted in 2011/12.

 

Civil claims: R82 million owed by Department of Minerals and Energy: The R82 million was incurred for steward security functions performed by the Police during the World Cup. This money was paid in the first quarter of 2011.

 

Reduction in informer fees: The Department stated that this was the result of processing of less informer fees. Reduction in fees occurred mainly in Free State, Eastern Cape and Gauteng.

 

Purchase of a helicopter: The Committee is concerned that the Department is not revealing operational/capital costs properly in their Strategic Plans or annual Performance Plans or in the ENE. The helicopter was ordered in 2009/10 but has not ever been mentioned in any documentation. The Department acknowledged that better alignment of the Annual Performance Plan and the budget was desirable and would be addressed. The 2012/13 Plan will be improved in this regard. The total amount of this helicopter was approximately R30.9 million.

 

8.2.       Consideration of performance per programme

 

8.2.1. Programme 1: Administration

 

Key successes noted in this Programme for which the Department is commended included:

 

·         Improvements in the management information systems in the area of Supply Chain Management (highlighted as a key concern in the previous BRRR).

·         Completion and implementation of the review of the Basic Training curriculum and increase of this training to two years.

·         Achievement of a number of key targets, including improvements in the ratio of vehicles to personnel.

 

However a number of concerns were raised including:

 

Capital projects: The Committee raised a number of concerns around capital projects including:

·         That only 19 of the 33 projects were completed.

·         That this means that the running costs for the 14 remaining projects will still be incurred in subsequent financial years and thus the budgeted allocation for 2010/11 for these 33 projects has been substantially exceeded, as they were all targeted for completion in 2010/11. The Committee requested that the Department provides all projected costs of these projects, final costs, as well as expenditure-to-date costs (for those that are not yet completed) to the Committee. The Department conceded that the Performance Plan for 2010/11 was probably not properly aligned to the budget, and that both final expenditure and projected expenditure for many projects has exceeded anticipated costs.

·         A number of projects are on hold due to bankruptcy of contractors. The Committee raised questions as to why unreliable contractors were given the contracts in the first place and why there was no cover for bankruptcy in these cases. Even when contracts are driven by the Department of Public Works, the SAPS has a responsibility (as the budget comes from the SAPS budget) to ensure that all checks and balances are in place. The Department has acknowledged that a number of projects, including the Roodeplaat Dog Unit (which has an anticipated cost of R662 million)  may not have been properly signed off by the SAPS, as some precautionary measures to improve control over the contracts driven by the Department of Public Works were only implemented after this project was signed off.

·         High costs of projects including SAPS projects, largely due to the extremely elongated periods of time taken to complete them, is still evident. For example, Bisho and Lady Frere were both SAPS projects. The projected cost of Bisho Police Station was R7.5 million and the final cost was R29 million. The project began in 2004 and was only completed in 2010. The Lady Frere project was also started in 2004 and completed in 2010 and was projected to cost R9 million. It was eventually completed at a cost of R26.5 million. The Department noted to the Committee that 13 projects are under investigation by the Special Investigative Unit (SIU). Internal charges were also brought against a number of members of Expert/Building services, including Brigadier van Vuuren (who subsequently resigned) and Brigadier Beck, who was found guilty. A number of Colonels (2) and Captains (5) have cases pending and have been charged. A total of 11 experts have been lost in this process. All Brigadiers have been replaced, and the Department has stated that some progress in this area is now becoming apparent. In addition, the Department notes that the Hawks will be investigating 10 more cases in the Building Services environment.

·         That the poor state of other police facilities, especially barracks has been noted by the Committee and is a concern. The Department stated that they needed to prioritize construction projects within limited resources but that new police stations would be constructed with police living facilities.

·         The target for completion of these 33 facilities was set by the police themselves, and yet not met.

 

Construction of rural stations: The Department provided the Committee with an amended 5-year plan, as well as with estimated and final/current costs of police stations. In addition to the revised building plan of 134 projects for 2011-2016, a total of 30 additional rural stations have been identified for inclusion in the following three- year building plans. The Department acknowledged that the plan may change in the light of new information emanating from the 2011 census. The rural stations will be built by Independent Development Trust (IDT). The Memorandum of Understanding is in process and will soon go out to tender.

 

Movable and immovable assets: The Department noted that some improvement can be seen in the management of immovable and movable assets, which had been noted as one of the most serious concerns of the Committee in the BRRR for the previous financial year. The Department has stated that it now has a management system in place, so that it knows where all its movable and immovable assets are, and can therefore account for these assets.

 

Basic services: In response to concerns by the Committee, the Department noted that there are 130 basic services which will be provided to 87 police stations in the 2011/12 financial year, including 54 water services, 87 sewerage services and 29 electricity services. This will cost the Department R53.6 million for 2011/12.

 

Vehicles: Members questioned the effectiveness of the automated vehicle location system (AVLS), as, at station level, there still seems to be a lack of control over vehicles. The Department noted that they were not yet completely satisfied with the functioning of this system. A total of 40 329 vehicles have been fitted with the system (6 674 vehicles still need to be fitted) and a person has been appointed in each cluster with access to a computer to monitor. Reports can be drawn on the location of the vehicles and information obtained when the vehicles are involved in accidents. However, it is only in 2012 that this will be cascaded to station level. It was stated that the problems with the system are issues around command and control (proper monitoring) rather than system problems. The Committee was concerned that the Department could not properly assess the impact of the system to date. However, the Department stated that they would be able to provide a fuller report on impact in about 6 months time, but, at present, it did seem as if the average costs to vehicles with AVLS’s were reduced (R12 thousand in comparison to R17 thousand for vehicles without AVLSs) and that they will retrain members to improve command and control. In addition, the AVL system will in future include all kilometers traveled and thus will alert stations when vehicles are in need of servicing.

 

The Committee also noted concerns in their oversight visits that it is clear that there are not sufficient vehicles for use, particularly by detectives. The Department acknowledged that while they believed that they had sufficient vehicles, and that the ratio of vehicles to personnel was positive, the distribution of vehicles was not ideal, especially at station level. The Department stated that this concern would be discussed at the next meeting with Provincial Commissioners.

 

Tetra system: The Committee noted that budget allocated for the Eastern Cape Tetra project was used for other expenditure in 2010/11 and noted with concern that it had not received a briefing on this project. Detailed information on Tetra was requested.

 

IS/ICT projects: In response to questions by the Committee, the Department acknowledged that, even though the target for 70% of IS/ICT expenditure was reached in 2010/11, and that they eventually spent their allocated budget (both ring-fenced and other), planning and delivery needed to be improved to ensure that spending and delivery of products did not in future only occur in the 4th quarter, as had occurred in 2010/11.

 

Training: Members noted that there were fewer training opportunities provided for members in 2010/11 in comparison with the previous year and requested that reasons for this be provided. The Committee was especially concerned around detective training. In response to the figures provided by the SAPS on the number of detectives that still require training (3 461), the Committee noted that this did not correlate with the information that they found at station level, where many detectives had not received any training whatsoever. The Committee requested detailed information on how many of the 24 000 detectives still required training in terms of the different training courses provided and by when all the detectives would be fully trained. The budget for detective training for 2010/11 was R16 million.

 

In terms of firearms training, the Committee raised concerns around whether police had to go through the same rigorous process as civilians in obtaining a Competency certificate for the use of their firearms, as well as what happened to police who failed the competency test.

 

A total of 115 members have been trained in strategic management over a 5-year period and 15 leaners are currently in training, using the Belgium funding for the strategic management environment. This funding was made directly available to the university concerned.

 

Appointments, resignations and promotions: Members raised concerns around the appointments and Section 35 terminations which occurred during 2010/11, especially at management level. Members were particularly concerned around appointments - Regulation 45 of 2008[7] (and the effect that these have on existing members), as well as Section 35[8] terminations and the cost of these to the Department. The Committee also questioned why so few promotions occurred in 2010/11 and that no promotions had occurred in the new rank structure categories of Lieutenant and Major.

 

The Department stated that 20 promotions and lateral appointments were made in terms of Regulation 45. These included four promotions and 16 lateral appointments. According to the Department, performance assessment and prior performance is also taken into account.  In the four cases, all had experience and qualifications or motivations that justified exceptional circumstances. The Committee raised the concern that there had been allegations of poor performance amongst some of these persons. The Committee was not convinced by the explanation of the Department.

 

The Department stated that 19 Section 35 terminations had been processed in the past two financial years. During 2010/11 this amounted to R31 million in severance pay. Section 35 can be initiated by employer or employee. A group of top management discusses Section 35s requested by employees with Legal Services and makes a decision. The final decision lies with the National Commissioner. The Committee is convinced, and the Department has agreed, that it is financially beneficial for a person wanting to go on retirement to take a Section 35. A Section 35 includes a salary of six months plus up to five years, if they still have five years’ service remaining before retirement age. The lump sum payment is also higher. Approximately four people out of the 19 people that took Section 35 terminations in 2010/11 were under investigation at the time. There is no mechanism to retrieve this money if the persons are convicted in court.

 

The new rank structure, including the two new ranks of Lieutenant and Major, was only signed off by the Bargaining Council in April 2011. Subsequent to the sign off of the structure, 5 310 promotions have occurred in all ranks. The Committee has concerns around promotion within the officer ranks. Ranks can be skipped in this process. Criteria for promotion include performance (satisfactory level), at least one year uninterrupted service in the SAPS, as well as seniority. Successful completion of a course is not a requirement.

 

In terms of suspensions with or without pay, the Department noted that one SMS member was suspended with pay during 2010/11. During 2011/12 two SMS members were suspended with pay. A total of 869 employees were suspended, 205 with pay and 664 without pay in 2010/11.

 

Sick leave: The Committee noted that abuse of sick leave was clear from the oversight visits of the Committee. The Department stated that they had also noticed this problem in their visit to stations and had listed the police stations in which there had been the highest increases. They have subsequently put in place measures to ensure that sick leave is managed better at station level and have stated that the sick leave figures for September 2011 show an improvement.

 

Cleaning contract: The contract for Democratic Cleaners expired in 30 July 2011. A total of 2 532 Public Service Act positions at level one were made available. Currently, 2 530 cleaners have been appointed. A work-study to determine future needs is in progress.

 

8.2.2.    Programme 2: Visible Policing

 

Key successes noted in this Programme for which the Department is commended included:

 

·         Successful provision of security around the FIFA Soccer World Cup.

·         Positive progress in reducing the number of crimes, including serious crimes, contact crimes and trio crimes.

 

However, a number of concerns were raised:

 

Impact of FIFA Soccer World Cup: Members raised a number of concerns that some of the targets were explained not to have been achieved as a result of the FIFA Soccer World Cup. The Department had known that the World Cup was occurring and thus the targets should have been set taking this into consideration.

 

The National Commissioner stated in explanation that a total of 8 500 people had been trained for crowd control, people had been withdrawn from their normal work to prepare, and during the event more people had been withdrawn after the strike by the private security companies and mandated to fulfill some of the security functions. Services had therefore been sidelined which might have impacted on some of the targets. However, the key concern raised by Members was around the explanation that budget was not available because of FIFA, such as for example with respect to the establishment of Victim Support Rooms. Budgetary allocations should have been made and not been effected by the World Cup, which had been separately budgeted for. Funds for the Soccer World Cup included amounts of R1 001. 121 million.

 

Sector Policing: The Committee once again raised serious concerns around the relatively slow pace of implementation of sector policing across the country, though recognizing that some improvements had been made in this regard. Sector policing has been a management strategy, since as early as 2002, yet is still not fully implemented. In addition, the Committee wanted to know the criteria used to decide on the number of sectors and change the number of sectors per station.

 

Escapes: The Committee raised concerns that the reason given for the target of escapes not having been achieved was due to the fact that measures taken to address escapes were not cascaded down to station level. This should have occurred before the target was set. In addition, the Committee wanted to know a breakdown of escapes where the police and other officials were involved, as well as information on the reasons for high escapes from the Community Service Centre and measures taken to address this problem. The Committee, in its oversight visits, has found extremely poor conditions and management of cells in the stations it has visited and is thus not surprised by the relatively high number of escapes that occur.

 

The Department stated that enhanced guidelines were issued only at the end of the 2010/11. These included improved methods (equipment that should be used); improving relationship with cluster departments (nature of the criminal); enhanced practices at hospitals; reducing individual visits to cells and implementing best practice from other countries. A total of 259 members were charged in terms of aiding escapees, of which 28 were suspended, 85 found not guilty, 149 found guilty, 18 cases were withdrawn, and 15 cases are still pending.

 

SAPS 13 stores and archives: The SAPS had reported that the number of exhibit firearms in SAPS 13 stores had decreased, but the Members noted that, as had been apparent during their oversight visit, it was unlikely that this figure was accurate, as the police at station level had no idea how many exhibit firearms they had in their possession and where these were.

 

The Department acknowledged that there was a serious problem in SAPS 13 stores and that they hoped in future to have secure stations per cluster that are responsible for securing all SAPS 13, as well as state firearms in that Cluster. However, due to resource constraints, this was not possible to implement immediately. They also acknowledged that they relied on figures provided by the provincial office, however unreliable these might be. The Department also acknowledged serious problems with archives, related primarily to shortage of space, but, in the opinion of the Committee, this was primarily as a result of poor control and management.

 

Firearm applications: The Committee raised serious concerns that, even though good progress had been made in 2010/11 to process firearm applications, it was apparent from oversight visits to police stations that the licences and competency certificates that had been processed had not been distributed to the applicants. Some of these licences had actually expired. The Department stated that they had now put mechanisms in place to ensure that this problem did not re-occur. Dedicated personnel have been appointed to deal with licensing. New measures include SMS messages, publishing notices in local newspapers, radio stations and other media. An archiving system will be established at provinces to deal with uncollected cards. The Department has finalised the national and provincial structures and the post will be filled. At station level, capacitation will be created and filled for dedicated posts.

 

Loss of firearms: The Committee raised numerous concerns around control over firearms by members, as well as those kept in SAPS safes at the station.  The 1 135 lost firearms are only those that have been reported lost. But it is clear from visits to stations that, at station level, there is very little control over SAPS firearms that are booked in and out. The Committee wanted to know how many of the lost firearms resulted in criminal proceedings against the members, as well as conditions under which these firearms were lost.

 

The Department stated that, when a firearm was lost by a member of the SAPS, a criminal as well as an internal investigation would ensue. In terms of identifying whether these were used in the commission of crimes, the serial numbers of many recovered firearms had been filed off, so they  could not be linked to lost firearms. Measures had been put in place to improve tracing of firearms with other markings. A total of 227 members had been charged in terms of the disciplinary process with respect to the losses. Of these, 203 had been found guilty, 43 not guilty and four cases had been dismissed. A total of 786 cases had not yet been classified as the investigation was still ongoing to make a determination in terms of the member’s liability.

 

Victim Support Rooms: The Committee raised concerns that the target for victim- support rooms had not been met, allegedly because of budget constraints. The Committee is concerned that the target to establish 79 rooms was in the Performance Plan but not properly budgeted for. The FIFA World Cup cannot be used as an excuse for not reaching this target.

 

Reservists: Members raised concerns around the long period of time that it had taken to review the reservist system, thus effectively not allowing reservists to offer their services at station level.

 

Public Order policing: The Committee raised questions as to whether the Department was exploring use of other non-lethal measures to deal with crowds, especially in light of increased crowd control operations related to service delivery protests. The Department stated that it was increasingly making use of water cannons (the water should be dyed to mark persons) and exploring other mechanisms. While acknowledging that the SAPS members ought not to overreact and abuse their powers, the Department stated that organisers ought also to act responsibly. In addition, members noted that the target for crowd control initiatives stabilization should be set at 100% rather than 97%. This has been addressed in the 2011 Annual Performance Plan.

 

Responsibilities at borderline:  Members wanted to know what had happened to the SAPS equipment at borderlines in which services had been withdrawn or reduced, as well as what had happened to the personnel that had been removed from these functions. Members raised the question as to whether the relationship between the police and defence force had improved, as problems had been noted. Members also questioned the purchasing of a helicopter for this function, in the light of reduction of police responsibilities at the borderlines.

 

The Department stated that the equipment had been redistributed to border posts (and some demobilized) and the permanent members had been redeployed to the nearest border posts. Detached members had been sent back to their original units. The Commissioner had stated that they had put a process in place to communicate more effectively. The Department stated that the SAPS was still involved in borderline duties, and thus the purchase of the helicopter was justified. The Department stated that the helicopter that was purchased in the first half of 2010/11 would also be used for crime-prevention duties.

 

Air Wing: In response to concerns raised around whether there were sufficient pilots, the Department stated that, while there were three vacancies (there are 49 pilots) and 50 aircraft, they had enough, as there should not be more pilots than there were aircraft. Two pilots would retire soon, but they had 11 student pilots to succeed these. The Department calls reservist pilots in when assistance is required.

8.2.3.    Programme 3: Detectives

 

Key successes noted in this Programme for which the Department is commended included:

 

·         The detection rate targets were achieved.

·         Commendable progress was made in reducing (in fact eliminating) backlogs in the Forensic Science environment.

·          

However, a number of concerns were raised:

 

Detection rate: Detection rate and percentage of court-ready cases dockets is the essence of the success of policing. The Committee raised concerns that the relatively low percentage of Court-Ready case dockets (about 30%) were only the percentage of those cases actually detected. While it is noted that improvements have been made in many of detection rates, these are still too low and, in addition, the ratio between targets (i.e. between detection and court-ready case dockets) should be far less. The detection rate needs to be improved. The Committee was concerned that the Department seemed satisfied with the relatively low detection rates (and the court-ready case dockets) as these were mostly in line with targets. The Department has acknowledged that improvements to detection have also been prioritized by the management of the SAPS.

 

Conviction rate: Members restated that they believed that conviction rates ought to be reported and ought to be reinserted in subsequent annual reports. This indicator (used in conjunction with the other two indicators) would provide a clearer and fuller picture of the successes and problems. They requested that the conviction rates for serious crimes should be reported in the hearings which took place.

 

Training: In response to questions about training, it was noted that, out of the 20 730 detectives at station level, 4 845 would need training in the Resolving of Crime (ROC) course. There is a backlog of 387 that still need to be trained in the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences units. The Department acknowledged that not all Branch Commanders and Unit Commanders had been trained and questioned why members had been put in these positions without training. While the Department stated that persons could receive the training at a later stage, members still believed that, in terms of proper career-pathing, it is better to train before appointment.

 

Crimes against women and children: Successes at combating crimes against women and children are less promising. The Committee raised concerns that even though this is a priority of Government, it is not sufficiently reflected in the prominence given to these crimes by the police. While commending the re-establishment of the 176 Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual offences units (FCS) units (but also noting that it will take some time to rebuild these structures, so that they are really effective), much more still needs to be done.

 

The Department has stated that harsh sentences meted out to these offenders will serve as a deterrent. The Department has embarked on a strategy to focus on repeat offenders. The Department stated that all units were fully functional and fully resourced. An amount of R49.5 was ring-fenced in 2011/12 in terms of physical resources. Some members were still undergoing the requisite psychometric tests.

 

Lost/stolen dockets: A total of 117 dockets were lost or stolen in 2010/11. Eleven criminal charges were instituted against members and 12 disciplinary charges were made in these cases. Many dockets go missing in the archives or at courts. The archives are in a poor state, due to the moratorium on destroying dockets and the shortage of space. The Committee is concerned that dockets are not secured at police stations and are sure that the number of dockets lost is far larger than the 117 reported for the 2010/11 financial year.

 

Detectives at station level: The lack of command and control of detectives at station level is a serious concern. Commanders are not trained and many of them are unable to manage their detectives effectively.  Urgent action is needed at detective level to cause a real turnaround.

 

Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks): The Committee raised questions as to whether all members had been vetted and whether losses had emanated from the vetting process. In addition, it was noted that the reporting on the DPCI did not really give a sense on how the units were doing and whether they had sufficient trained personnel and capacity to do their work effectively.

 

The Department noted that there were vacancies (305 posts) at the Hawks. The current strength was 2 835 and there were 3 140 posts. The Directorate was focusing on allocating posts to deal with problems identified by the Auditor-General with regard to the Organised Crime Project Investigations. Financial capacity and corruption tackling capacity would also be prioritised. All members had top secret or temporary secret level of clearance. A total of 39 people had been lost in the vetting process. They had sufficient resources and shortages were addressed through training and recruitment. A total of 36 out of 55 projects carried over from the SAPS had successfully been terminated, 97 cases were in court and 136 cases had not been finalised. All merged capacities i.e. commercial crimes units, organised crime units, Scorpions and SAPS High Tech units had their own internal culture. There were still challenges in relationships and the Department had looked at service providers to do an organisational diagnosis and assist with a transition to a desired merged organisational unit.

 

Cybercrime: In response to concerns around the capacity to deal with cybercrime raised by the Committee, the Department stated that the SAPS worked with the Department of Communications, State Security and others in the Justice cluster. The SAPS had developed capacity in the DPCI Commercial Crime unit by employing more skilled personnel to form cyber laboratories. The Department also had capacity in the Crime Intelligence division and collaborated with the Banking Industry, while trying to build upon internal capacity. There was also co-operation with international structures, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Chinese law enforcement agencies. In conjunction with Human Resources, the Department was building up training capacity to deal with the collection of digital evidence. The Department acknowledged that, both as a Cluster and within SAPS, more work needed to be done to deal with this growing trend.

 

Fingerprint Bill: The Division has prioritized building awareness amongst members in the Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management. This will be expanded to other members at a later stage.

 

Forensic Science Laboratory:  Emanating from the visit of the Committee to the forensic laboratories, the Committee raised a number of questions around the laboratories, including space and infrastructure, security measures taken to deal with security of drugs at the laboratories, and the status of new and defunct equipment. Concerns were also raised around the desirability of the alleged decentralization of the Criminal Record Centres to provinces. Questions were also asked as to whether the earmarked funds for the Integrated Justice System and Criminal Justice System Revamp projects had eventually been spent on the items originally planned for.

 

The Department reported that a number of areas had improved at the Silverton laboratory, but the conditions were still not ideal. There was no budget in the MTEF for building of laboratory and thus the Department could only maintain and repair what it had. Containers had been procured to enhance the storage of drugs and drugs were destroyed on a quarterly basis. Expenditure from the Capital Works budget would be incurred for the revamp of the Tshwane Laboratory at Silverton. The building of an exhibit storage facility in Silverton was on the priority list for the current MTEF. The tender process for the installation of cameras at the drug storage facility at Silverton had not yet been finalized. Additional cameras had been procured for the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal laboratories.

 

The Plattekloof laboratory is nearing completion and should be finished in November 2011. The final cost of the project will be over R500 million. The KwaZulu-Natal Laboratory and the Eastern Cape laboratories occupy leased buildings, as well as the Western Cape laboratory (until the relocation to Plattekloof occurs). The construction of new laboratory in KwaZulu-Natal is prioritized for funding in the current MTEF. Leased costs of these buildings are over R10.9 million per year. The need for a new consolidated laboratory in Pretoria will be discussed at the next National Management Forum meeting.

 

New technology is being tested by Applied BioSystems to overcome challenges experienced with the GSPS. The GSPS is operational with nine employees. The services of the manager responsible for the Marshal System procurement and decommissioning has been terminated. An investigation and report on the unutilized equipment has been undertaken. The cost of this equipment was R3.4 million. The equipment cannot be utilized as it is outdated. The equipment has depreciated, but it is possible that some exchange with a service provider may be possible. The Division has initiated Technical Management capacity to facilitate acquisition of technology together with Technology Management Services.

 

The Department stated that despite decentralization, the Forensic Service retained custodian functions. The intention was to improve capacity at cluster and provinces, but the current challenges warranted a review by management.

 

The Department stated that the earmarked funds had been spent on the items/areas that they were originally planned for, despite the delays in spending these funds.

 

8.2.4.    Programme 4: Crime Intelligence

 

Key successes noted in this Programme for which the Department is commended included:

 

·         Achievement of the targets in Crime Intelligence environment.

 

However, a number of concerns were raised:

 

Secret Service Accounts: The Committee raised concerns with allegations around misuse of secret funds from this account and reiterated that these were concerns that they had raised in the previous year, but which had  not been responded to. However, the National Commissioner stated that the fund was not under their command and no-one in his Department had detailed knowledge around the finances of this account and thus could not respond to concerns. The Inspector General and the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) oversee this account. The Committee will arrange interaction with the JSCI in this regard.

 

Intelligence-driven police service: The Committee raised the concern as to whether, at station level, crime intelligence members were utilized optimally and co-operated effectively with all others, such as detectives, visible police etc. The Committee is concerned that this may not be working as effectively as it should at station level, despite prioritization of this strategy.

 

The Department said the best performing police stations were those in which the intelligence officer briefed the Station Commander each morning and where there was good co-ordination with other members at station level. The Committee was concerned that management was not taking sufficient steps to address non-compliance with the directives by management at station level in this regard.

 

Former Provincial Head of Crime Intelligence Gauteng: The Committee was concerned that the Department had moved Lieutenant-General Mabasa into a post that was not funded. The Committee wanted to know whether Lieutenant-General Mabasa’s services had been terminated and on what grounds and under what conditions.

 

The Department stated that Mabasa had received a Section 35 on the basis of restructuring. The Department had terminated his service in terms of Section 35 and had paid his actual benefits in terms of the SAPS, Government Services Pension Fund Act and Basic Conditions of Service Act. This included R1 million from SAPS Act and R1 137 882 (40% taxable) from his pension. A monthly pension would be paid. He had been paid out for 34 years of service. The Department could not comment on the criminal investigation, as these were allegations at this point.

 

Vetting: Not all Crime Intelligence members have been vetted, including not all of the 1181 new members received in 2010/11. This is due to insufficient capacity at the vetting office, which only has 106 members nationally. The decision has been made to improve capacity of the vetting office to address this problem.

 

8.2.5.    Programme 5: Protection and Security Services

 

Key successes noted in this Programme for which the Department is commended included:

 

·         Decrease in the number of crimes in the railway environment.

 

However, a number of concerns were raised:

 

Corruption at border posts:  Members reiterated concerns around the high level of corruption within the SAPS stationed at border posts.  The National Commissioner acknowledged these problems but stated that the police were aware of these problems and were implementing operations to combat this problem, targeting both SAPS as well as other departmental persons. In September 2011, a bust of 24 members at Lebombo by the Hawks had been an achievement. A Cabinet decision had been made for the SAPS to take over OR (currently under private and international security). There was a need for improved technology, such as scanners to assist in combatting crimes/corruption at the borders posts/lines. The Department had embarked on a vetting process of all officials which started in February 2010. An awareness campaign had been initiated to increase awareness of members around corruption, but a decision had been made to ensure that members involved in corruption were investigated, disciplined and removed completely from the SAPS. These members were therefore not removed from this environment and transferred to another environment. Investigations of this nature were lengthy and might take as long as four or five years.

 

9.         Conclusion

 

In conclusion the following can be noted:

 

The Committee commends the Department for using 100% of its budget and for receiving an unqualified audit. A number of key improvements and successes are noted in the performance of the Department during the 2010/11 financial year and in the current financial year. The Committee is, however, clear on the fact that it is necessary to further improve management systems and controls to ensure that all members in the SAPS function to the best of their ability and in line with the requirements of all laws, regulations and orders.

 

The reduction in the murder rate to the lowest levels in many years is particularly welcomed and the reduction in a number of contact crimes and other serious crimes is beginning to realize the outcome of ‘ensuring that all people in South Africa are and feel safe’. The re-establishment of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences units in the clusters is particularly welcomed and the Committee is convinced that, if properly resourced and supported, these units will succeed in curbing crime against the most vulnerable in society - women and children.

 

The SAPS and its members deserve the support of all South Africans in the role that they play in fighting crime to ensure that we are all safe. The Committee recognises the dedication and passion of many members of the SAPS to fulfil this function.

 

10.        Recommendations

 

In light of the above, the following budgetary and other recommendations are made:

 

Budget: The budget of the Department is relatively adequate for their needs.  The issue is not therefore inadequate funding, but rather the more effective utilization of existing funds.

 

Funding for the Cluster: The Department needs to note the responsibility that comes with receiving the biggest budget allocation in the Cluster and should thus use these funds responsibly. The Cluster should take more interest in ensuring that the ring-fenced funds are efficiently spent in terms of the Criminal Justice Revamp spending. 

 

Funds allocated: Allocated funds that are not properly spent can be reduced. In this respect it is recommended that:

 

·         Police Day: The Committee supports the celebration of the SAPS. However, any planned event in the annual plan of the SAPS does not justify irregular expenditure being incurred. A review of the nature of Police Day should be undertaken.

 

Irregular expenditure: Due to the huge increase in irregular expenditure, and the acknowledgement by the Auditor-General’s office that they do not have the capacity to undertake a full forensic investigation, it is recommended that an investigation into this irregular expenditure is initiated and referred to a relevant body for investigation. The outcome of this investigation should be reported to the Committee on completion. The Minister will be invited to the Committee to report on this issue.

 

Auditing process and audit findings: The Committee welcomes the initiative by the Auditor-General’s office to expand their sample in subsequent years by auditing 25 police station on an announced basis, as well as (for the first time) five unannounced stations. The information emanating from these five unannounced stations will be used to guide future auditing processes. Theb Auditor General’s office should report to the Committee on the outcome of this new auditing process, on completion.

 

The Department highlighted steps that it has taken to address the concerns of the Auditor-General. The Portfolio Committee will monitor progress on these management control measures.

 

Virement: The Portfolio Committee on Police recommends to the relevant Parliamentary Committee that the PFMA should be amended to ensure that virement is capped by imposing a limit on actual amounts that can be shifted, rather than by a percentage only.  Where the 8% is higher than the capped amount, the Department should go back to Treasury to get permission.

 

Reprioritization of resources to combatting crimes against women and children: Despite a number of successes in 2010/11 with regard to crimes in general, a key concern remains the combatting of crimes against women and children. The SAPS strategy for combatting crimes against women and children should include clear timeframes, as well as a ring-fenced budget. This costed strategic plan should be presented to the Committee during the budget hearings in 2012 It is recommended that resources be actively reprioritized to combat these crimes, including ring-fencing money for the following purposes including:

 

·         Ensuring effective resourcing of all FCS units, both in terms physical and human resources.

·         Ensuring that all members of FCS units are fully trained and competent in performance of their functions.

·         Ensuring that all members of the Community Service Centre and the volunteers, who are the first point of call for the public, should be trained to respond effectively to victims.

·         Ensuring that all members of FCS units are obliged to attend trauma debriefing sessions with trained social workers/psychologists.

·         Establishing of all Victim Support Rooms.

·         Utilizing outside resources and the use of experts to understand trends in particular areas/provinces and initiate concerted interdepartmental and intersectoral efforts to prevent these crimes.

·         Prioritizing these crimes in the Forensic Science Laboratories and the Criminal Record Centres to ensure fast turnaround times for analysing reports in these cases.

·         Ensuring that crime intelligence personnel at station, cluster and provincial level are focused on intelligence gathering and sharing initiatives to prevent and detect these crimes.

·         Expanding units in problem areas including in the Northern Cape and Western Cape.

 

The Department should report to the Committee on this issue within 30 days of tabling of this report.

 

Security of SAPS 13 Stores: The Regulations around the management of SAPS 13 exhibits must be implemented to the letter. All stations should have well secured and organised Stores, managed effectively by a competent and reliable person in charge. The Committee recommends that the Secretariat utilizes its Monitoring and Evaluation Unit to monitor the management of SAPS 13 Stores at station level and report to the Committee on the result of this exercise.

 

SAPS Firearms: Regulations around the control of SAPS firearms must be strictly adhered to. Unnecessary excess firearms should not be kept at the station. A proper audit should be completed of all firearms at station level. In addition, the Department should report on the anticipated costs and risk assessment, which should be completed before embarking on a centralized (cluster) model for the safekeeping of excess firearms.

 

Budgeting of targets: There were a number of targets that were not met due to ‘budgetary constraints as a result of FIFA’. The Committee has asked before and reiterates that all targets should be costed and budgeted for and that this information should be provided to the Committee during the strategic planning process.

 

Collaboration: The Committee takes note that the Auditor-General will not qualify the opinion of the Department if irregular expenditure and other issues are correctly disclosed in the financial statements. It is the role of other oversight bodies, including the Portfolio Committee on Police, to take issues identified by this Office further. The Committee recommends closer co-operation between itself and the Auditor-General’s office, as well as between itself and the other relevant parliamentary Committees.

 

Annual Reports and Performance Plans: Detailed information should be reported on in subsequent annual reports in the following areas:

 

·         Following the adoption of the SAPS Anti-Corruption Strategy, the Department should report on:

o        The resources dedicated to the implementation and monitoring of the SAPS Anti-Corruption Strategy.

o        Numbers of police officials that are dismissed and not dismissed after being convicted of a criminal offence, including per province.

o        Number of police officials that have criminal charges against them.

 

·         Loss of departmental firearms: including

o        How these firearms were lost (e.g. negligence, stolen etc.).

o        What action was taken against those responsible.

o        Financial implication of losses.

 

·         Conviction rates: The Committee wants conviction rates reinserted into the annual performance plans and the annual reports. While acknowledging the concern of SAPS that conviction rates are not entirely under the control of the Department, it is the opinion of the Committee that they still provide a valuable source of information as to the quality of investigation completed. The Committee requests that information on: number of cases reported, cases to court, conviction rates and numbers undetected are all included in the annual performance plans and annual reports.

 

·         Crime Intelligence: A target indicating the number of cases in which a conviction was as a direct result of involvement of Crime Intelligence should be included.

 

Terminations and appointments: Section 35 of the SAPS Act (terminations) must be dealt with strictly in terms of the spirit of the Act. Information on all Section 35 terminations awarded during the financial year, including reasons and full costs (including costs to the pension fund) must be included in the Annual Report.

 

Regulation 45 must be dealt with strictly in terms of the spirit of the Regulation. These should be reported in the Annual Report and the information should include the reasons for use of the Regulation, identification of all vertical appointments and lateral entry appointments; and for each case identify the reason used to justify this. 

 

The Committee will review these two issues in the process of reviewing the SAPS Act.

 

Poor management at all levels: The Committee has found during its oversight visits in 2010/11 that, despite training opportunities provided there is a lack of proper implementation of management practices at station level. The clusters are not adequately fulfilling their strategic management role in terms of stations and the provinces are not adequately fulfilling their strategic management role in terms of stations and clusters.  The Department must report to the Committee on steps that it has taken and will be taking to improve management and control at all levels.

 

Building projects: Prioritization of building projects should be based on a scientific needs analysis. Deviations from prioritized lists should only occur under exceptional circumstances and all deviations should be reported to Parliament. Progress on delivery of basic services at station level should be reported back to Parliament. The Department must report to the Committee on details of and the plan going forward to deal with State accommodation for police members.

 

Focused prioritization of Detective functions: The Department should prioritize resources, including recruitment to fill vacant posts, training, vehicles and other resources, such as cell phones and computers.   The Department should present a plan to the Committee on how they intend to ensure that all detectives are fully trained (have attended ROCC) within a defined time period.  

 

Prioritization of Crime Intelligence functions: The Department should prioritize filling the vacant posts at Crime Intelligence and ensuring that these personnel are properly trained. Operational crime intelligence capacity at station level must be effectively utilized as per Standing and Station Orders. The Committee will meet with its counterparts in the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) to discuss the Committee’s concerns with regard to the secret fund and the performance of Crime Intelligence.

 

Report to be considered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



[1] National Treasury (December 2010) Budget and Expenditure Status report for the Department of Police

[2] National Treasury (December 2010) Budget and Expenditure Status Report for the Department of Police.

[3] National Treasury (December 2010) Budget and Expenditure Status Report for the Department of Police

[4] National Treasury (December 2010) Budget and Expenditure Status Report for the Department of Police

[5] Information Systems / Information and Communications Technology

[6] The CARA is a separate account within the National Revenue Fund into which monies and property are deposited, following a judicial forfeiture or confiscation order. The funds are managed in an office of the CFO in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. A Committee may make recommendations to Cabinet regarding this money which may be allocated to specific law enforcement agencies and/or institutions/organisations or a fund established to render assistance to victims of crime. Section 69A of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act states that whenever Cabinet allocates such funds the Minister (of Justice) shall cause all particulars of such allocation to be tabled in Parliament.

[7] Regulation 45 deals with appointments which are made outside of the normal processes which entail advertising for posts. These appointments can only be made under limited conditions such as ‘exceptional circumstances’. Written reasons must be provided for all these appointments. These appointments can be lateral- different posts but the same rank; or vertical- the appointments entail movement to a higher rank.

[8] Section 35 of the South African Police Service Act which deals with terminations of service of members. This section provides specific conditions under which services can be terminated.