Policing the police:

SAPS Members charged and convicted of crime



One of the major challenges facing the South African Police Service is to uproot elements of criminality among its members. In the year 2000 over 14600 cases involving the police were investigated, and in 1999 over 1500 SAPS members were convicted for criminal offences. To a great extent the success of the SAPS in its war against crime will be measured by its success in dealing with corrupt and criminal police officers.

After seven years of implementing change, the SAPS has not yet managed to exorcise all the demons of the old South African Police. Among these are public perceptions of the police. Perceptions of the police as inefficient and corrupt are in fact on the increase. To a certain extent some of these perceptions are justified, as a substantial number of police have brought the SAPS into disrepute. Unfortunately, too often in the eyes of the public one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.

Criminal complaints and charges against SAPS members

Between 1994 and 1997 an average of 13954 complaints or charges per annum were laid against SAPS members. The greatest increase occurred between 1995 and 1996 (23%), and 1996 and 1997 (34%) (Figure 1). Figures from 1998 to 2000 were not available. However, according to SAPS supporting division head, Superintendent John Smal, the SAPS last year investigated over 14600 cases against its members. This clearly indicates that criminal tendencies among police remain unacceptably high.

Figure 1 Total number of complaints against SAPS members

Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD)

The ICD has also recorded a substantial increase in the number of complaints they received against SAPS members in the financial year April 1999 to March 2000. The ICD has indicated that it received 4380 complaints during this period. This, according to the ICD, represents a 52% increase in complaints received compared to the previous financial year.

Of the 4380 complaints received by the ICD the majority (1675) were for misconduct, 1237 matters fell outside their mandate, 764 were serious criminal offences, 681 were deaths in police custody or as a result of police action, and 23 were referrals from the minister of safety and security or MEC’s in the provinces. The highest number of complaints came from Gauteng, followed by the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The Northern Cape, Free State and Mpumalanga registered the lowest number of complaints for this period (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Percentage distribution of ICD complaints by province, April 1999 - March 2000

Convictions

The number of SAPS members convicted of criminal offences has increased since 1995, but remains low when considering the number of complaints. The more accurate way to assess convictions is to calculate the conviction rate, based on the number of complaints recorded. However, since not all the required statistics were available, only the actual number of convictions is used here. Between 1995 and 1999 over 1200 police officers a year were convicted of crime. The number of convictions of SAPS members increased by 19% between 1995 and 1999, and by 17% between 1998 and 1999. The biggest increase was from 1283 in 1998 to 1551 in 1999 (Figure 3). The increasing number of convictions of SAPS members does not help the public image of the police. On the positive side, these figures do highlight a measure of success of the criminal justice system in dealing with this complex problem.

Figure 3 Total number of SAPS members convicted of crimes

What are they convicted of?

The complaints against and convictions of SAPS members range from the most serious crimes such as murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) and rape, to minor crimes such as refusing to divulge identity, use of vehicles without permission, and reckless driving. Figure 4 shows the number of convictions for selected crime types as a percentage of total convictions of SAPS members in 1999. These were selected on the basis of volume and seriousness of crime. A quarter (25%) of all the convictions were for reckless driving, followed by common assault (15%), assault GBH (8%), theft (7%), violation of the Firearm and Ammunition Act (7%), and pointing firearms (5%).

Figure 4 Number of convictions for selected crimes as a percentage of total convictions, 1999

Convictions for serious crimes

Between 1995 and 1999 an average of 34 SAPS members have been convicted each year for murder, and 45 for attempted murder. The number of convictions for these crimes has been decreasing since 1995 (Figure 5). In contrast, convictions for assault have been increasing between 1995 and 1999. The highest year-on-year increase was recorded between 1998 and 1999, when convictions for common assault increased by 40% and assault GBH increased by 39% (Figure 6). The number of police officers convicted for armed robbery has been on the decrease between 1995 and 1999. There was a high rate of conviction in the first three years (1995 to 1997) but this began to decrease from 1998 (Figure 7).

Figure 5 Number of SAPS members convicted for murder and attempted murder

Figure 6 Number of SAPS members convicted for assault

Figure 7 Number of SAPS members convicted for armed robbery


Conclusion

Criminal complaints and charges against SAPS members remain unacceptably high, yet convictions are comparatively low. One reason for this is that investigation and court processes often take a long time. However, it is important that criminal cases against police officials should be prioritised. Police criminality is a monster that will always stand in the way of reducing crime. The sooner corrupt police officials are removed from the SAPS, the better.

Source documents

SAPS: Response to questions in parliament.

Independent Complaints Directorate: Annual Report 1999/2000
Sibusiso Masuku
Institute for Security Studies