Cape Town – Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko says the elite crime fighting unit, the Hawks, will receive more resources with a funding of R1.4 billion.
The Minister tabled the department’s SA Police Service and Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) Budget Vote in Parliament’s Old Assembly Chamber on Thursday.
The Minister said IPID will focus its efforts on the professionalisation of the police service by strengthening its investigative mandate.
“This financial year, we have increased the resourcing of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) with funding of R1.431 billion, which will also cater for the new specialised units.
“A decision was taken to re-establish the Narcotics Bureau and the Firearm Investigation Combating Units because of the need and the outcry of our citizens,” he said.
Addressing Members of Parliament in Cape Town, the Minister said the Hawks have continued to notch up impressive successes, especially in the fields of commercial and organised crime.
He said working with sister agencies, the unit has contributed to the freezing and forfeiture orders amounting to R735 million.
“The unit has also been involved in fighting rhino poaching, the illegal trade in precious metals and corruption and fraud in government, which has led in 91 officials being convicted.
“Our efforts in fighting transnational organised crime will continue and the recently held Russia Africa Anti-Drugs Dialogue bares testimony to the reach that we are beginning to show in the focused fight against drugs,” he said.
He said some of the successes that the men and women in blue recorded include the dismantling of 23 drug laboratories and seizure of equipment to the value of R42.8 million. Six of these laboratories were in Gauteng. The value of drugs taken out of circulation amounts to R391.4 million resulting in 64 arrests, the Minister said.
Professionalising SAPS
The Minister said IPID, working with other departments in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster, will over the next three years focus on contributing to the professionalisation of the police service by strengthening its investigative capacity to be able to effectively deliver on its investigations mandate.
“Over the medium term, IPID will expand its investigative methods and systems to respond to cases of police misconduct and abuse of power.
“IPID will further strengthen its investigative skills capacity through the newly established National Specialised Investigations Team in order to conduct specialised investigations and facilitate the training of investigators on systemic corruption and other specialised investigations,” he said.
The Minister said that part of professionalising the police service by IPID, includes the implementation of the recommendations of the Farlam Commission of Enquiry.
The Minister said since the establishment of the new mandate in 2012, IPID has secured more than 400 disciplinary convictions, ranging from sanction of corrective counselling, dismissal from service, final written warnings, fines, suspension, verbal and written warnings and more than 300 criminal convictions, ranging from short to long term imprisonment.
This is in addition to the achievement of the directorate’s strategic targets, with improvements in the total number of investigations finalised from 48% (5 137 of 10 657) in 2014/15 to 77% (8 593 of 11 103) in 2015/16, the Minister said.
“It is through the above planned activities and mechanisms that we believe the oversight role of IPID will contribute to the professionalisation of the police service in promoting good police conduct. The work by IPID ensures that members of SAPS indeed work for the South African public interests,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
