The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for South African Police Service (SAPS) leadership to be called before the Portfolio Committee on Police to account for millions of cases being closed without result.
In May 2024, former Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, revealed in a parliamentary reply to a question posed by the Democratic Alliance that over 5.4 million case dockets were closed, without result, due to insufficient evidence or leads since the 2018/2019 financial year.
Former DA Shadow Minister of Police Andrew Whitfield referred to the results of the reply as “another explosive admission of failure by Minister of Police, Bheki Cele. Whitfield further stated the “shocking figure highlights the utter failure of the SAPS under the leadership of Bheki Cele.”
At approximately one million cases per year, Whitfield noted that “almost 3 000 cases are closed daily by the SAPS without victims of crime ever receiving justice.” The approximate 3 000 cases closed daily include cases of murders, rape, assault and kidnappings.
Democratic Alliance Deputy Spokesperson on Police, Lisa Schickerling, noted in a statement that the current Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu had handed over a detailed breakdown of the dockets to the DA.
“The information furnished to the DA by the Minister paints a disturbing picture, particularly in light of our country’s Women’s Month celebrations, and highlights key areas of concern in both docket management and the capacity and staffing shortages in the SAPS’ detective services,” stated Schickerling.
Between the 2018/2019 period and 31 December 2023, the following total number of dockets were closed, without result, according to the Minister:
Murder: 76 655
Attempted murder: 40 089
Assault GBH: 141 026
Aggravated robbery: 256 162
Rape: 61 740
Sexual Assault: 5 523
Kidnapping: 9 114
Regarding the loss of case dockets from SAPS offices, the number is highest for dockets in cases of murder, assault GBH (grievous bodily harm), and aggravated robbery. Minister Mchunu noted 68.75% of dockets stolen from SAPS stations were open cases pertaining to rape and sexual assault. Alarmingly, all occurred in Limpopo, with Schickerling noting it “[raises] serious questions about the effectiveness of docket management within the SAPS and the maintenance of docket safety.”
The DA called upon the Minister and National Commissioner to “launch a full-scale investigation into these missing and stolen dockets.”
Schickerling further stated that “approximately 974 cases of rape and sexual assault are closed without result every month. This means that an average of about 32 victims of rape and sexual assault lose a chance at obtaining justice each and every day.”
“This is a deplorable state of affairs that requires urgent intervention from both the Minister and senior SAPS management to ensure that cases of gender-based violence and violence against women are treated with the seriousness and care that they deserve,” noted Schickerling.
The DA has written to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, requesting the Minister, the National Commissioner, and the Limpopo Provincial Commissioner be brought before the Committee, to discuss the matter.
