Anti-GBV groups call for robust vetting system at SAPS

Anti-Gender-Based Violence (GBV) advocacy groups are calling for the beefing up of the vetting and training standards for police officers to prevent people with predatory tendencies from joining the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Their appeal comes hot on the heels of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s (IPID) report, which revealed that 110 rape cases against police officials were opened between the 2023/24 reporting period.

KwaZulu-Natal led the charge with 26 cases reported; Gauteng followed closely with 20, the Western Cape recorded 19 cases, and the Eastern Cape had 18.

Soul City Institute for Social Justice’s Communications and Advocacy Manager, Pontsho Pilane, says officers who are accused of sexual violence must face swift and impartial investigation.

 

IPID Spokesperson, Lizzy Shuping, says the organisation doesn’t have the power to suspended police officers found to be on the wrong side of the law.

“…although IPID would make disciplinary recommendations to them to act against their member. Once IPID concludes its investigation, a docket will be referred to the NPA for a decision to prosecute. In the year under review 102 cases were on the court roll. Some cases were rolled over from the previous year. Once a case is in court, we then have to wait for court process to unfold as the matter is now with the judiciary.”

The Soul City Institute for Social Justice’s Pilane says law enforcement officials who violate the people they are supposed to protect create fear and distrust.

She says a culture that counteracts such needs to be created in the interest of justice.

Non-Profit Organisation, #NotInMyNameInternational, says it’s unfortunate that some officers are complicit in the crime that South Africans are trying to win the war against.

The NPO’s secretary-general, Themba Masango, says the rape cases by SAPS members is among the reasons why GBV victims are afraid to go to police stations by themselves.