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The Citizen reports that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has revealed that at least 1.9 million case dockets remain outstanding amid a severe detective shortage in SA.
Responding to questions from MPs at the Nieuwmeester Dome in Cape Town on Wednesday, Mchunu addressed concern over the backlog of criminal cases being handled by the SA Police Service (Saps). He acknowledged the severity of the situation, stating that the backlog had reached an unmanageable level. “There are 1.9 million dockets that are outstanding, which we have decided to projectise because there’s no way you can treat that as a normal situation. It’s totally abnormal,” the minister stated. He explained that resolving the backlog would take at least two years, as the National Treasury lacked the necessary funds to assist. “We looking elsewhere to get resources to deal with that backlog,” Mchunu indicated. Detectives were overwhelmed, each handling an excessive number of cases, he lamented. However, the minister confirmed that 4,500 new recruits have joined the detective division and expressed the hope that this ongoing recruitment would bring back some of the former detectives and prevent a number of them from leaving. Mchunu pointed to several factors contributing to the detective crisis, including salary disparities between detectives and uniformed police officers.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Molefe Seeletsa at The Citizen
- Read too, Scrambling Saps turns to private sector over staggering case backlog, at Cape Times
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page