Parliament, Thursday, 24 April 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Police has expressed grave concern over key performance targets identified by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in its 2025/26 annual performance plan and 2025–2030 strategic plan. The committee received a “detailed” presentation from senior management of the SAPS, which left the committee uninspired and astonished.
“The annual performance plan and strategic outlook are supposed to give a broad framework that guides the work of any government department. The shocking lack of detail, setting of unachievable targets in some instances and complete disregard to certain worrying crime trends projects the lack of urgency to overcome crime and to achieve the goals of the National Development Plan,” said Mr Ian Cameron, the Chairperson of the committee.
One such example is the plan to combat the alarmingly high murder rate in the country. The committee found it disconcerting that the SAPS’ proposed murder detection rate target is 11.33% over the next financial year. The murder detection rate is the percentage of reported murder cases where police have identified and arrested at least one suspect. It measures how effectively law enforcement is able to solve murder crimes. “The target essentially implies that nearly nine out of ten murder cases may go unresolved over the next financial year. This figure was presented without qualifying methodology and stands in stark contrast to government’s stated objective of halving violent crime by 2029,” Mr Cameron emphasised.
Viewed with the revelation that the SAPS have closed almost 80 000 unsolved murder cases since 2018, the unreasonably low target for the murder detection rate presents a picture of an unresponsive SAPS that lacks the will and urgency to solve South Africa’s high murder rate.
Similarly, the committee raised alarm with the target to reduce lost or stolen SAPS-issued service firearms by 10%. The police reported to the committee that in the 2023/24 financial year 632 of its own firearms were lost or stolen. The fact that the police are aiming to reduce this figure by only 10% highlights the lack of commitment to tackling the proliferation of firearms on our streets. More worrying is the lack of detail in the APP and the discussions that followed of consequence management against errant and negligent officers. The committee finds silence on effective consequence management within the SAPS concerning.
South Africa is facing a pandemic of gender-based violence and femicide and while the planned 69.35% detection rate for contact crimes against women is commendable, the lack of linkage with conviction rates robs the committee of a full picture on how this scourge will be combated. Coupled with the lack of tangible timeframes to resolve the longstanding DNA backlog, the promised new forensic capabilities appear illusionary. As a result, the committee has decided to schedule meetings with the SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority to examine case throughput, conviction trends and inter-agency collaboration and coordination.
The committee also raised concerns about the APP’s lack of detail regarding effective vehicle capacity for police stations. While the APP highlights the move towards evidence-based decision-making, the lack of information on vehicle-to-member ratio, provincial deployment plan, or vehicle uptime standards points to targets that do not address the operational realities at station level.
On the 10111 call center, while the committee welcomes the realisation and planned capacitation of these centres, the lack of time-bound details of how this will be done is concerning. “Clear timelines are necessary to ensure accountability. Without these timeframes, the committee and provincial legislatures will be unable to perform adequate oversight,” Mr Cameron said.
The committee is also highly skeptical of SAPS’ stated intention to construct 200 new police stations over the next five years. The committee’s cynicism is based on the lack of detail on budget allocation to achieve this target, timelines and provincial breakdown on the locations of these stations. “A plan without these critical elements does not give confidence that the target will be achieved. Also, based on past delivery performance and current infrastructure and budgetary constraints, the target seems unrealistic and vague,” Mr Cameron emphasised.
While the committee has welcomed the prioritisation of the accountability ecosystem within the SAPS through the intention to adopt lifestyle audits for 50% of senior officers managing procurement, in the intelligence services and other portfolios, the committee has cautioned that lack of follow through will be detrimental to the reputation of the SAPS and will lead to further trust deficits between the SAPS and communities. Despite this, the committee is dismayed by the absence of the long-awaited skills and qualification audit of SAPS senior officers in the APP.
Despite these concerns, the committee welcomes several key commitments in the APP, including the recruitment of 4 000 additional detectives, planned investment in body-worn cameras, adoption of drones and other surveillance tools as force multipliers and expanded support for GBV and FCS units. While these targets are commendable, the committee cautioned that measurable improvements must be tangible over time and commensurate with the investments made.
In response to concerns raised about the APP, the committee has formally instructed SAPS management to return to the committee with a revised plan that sets credible, justifiable and publicly defensible goals.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON POLICE, MR IAN CAMERON.
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