The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola, together with the management of the police service, has noted the report released on The National Investigative Hearing into the July Unrest by the South African Human Rights Commisson (SAHRC) and Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Commission.
The report is a detailed look into the July 2021 unrest that unfolded in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), during which some 350 people lost their lives. The full report can be found on https://www.sahrc.org.za/home/21/files/JULY%20UNREST%20REPORT%20FINAL_29%20JAN%202024.pdf.
The report contains various recommendations and findings on the events that took place in July 2021, including the policing of the unrest, the gathering of intelligence and the response of the SAPS.
SAPS said in a statement on Monday that while it will study the report in detail, "it is important to highlight notable progress made where key milestones were achieved to ensure the SAPS is better prepared to respond to such incidents".
READ | SAHRC releases July 2021 unrest report
Crime intelligence
SAPS said the filling of critical and key vacancies within the crime intelligence environment has been addressed, such as the appointment of a permanent Divisional Commissioner and a Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection.
All structures within the Crime Intelligence environment are being reviewed to enhance service delivery in all provinces.
"It is also important to note that the Crime Intelligence environment has greatly improved its mandate of detecting and collecting of information on crime, which informs and assists in the coordination and planning of joint multidisciplinary operations with other key role players in the fight against crime," the statement read.
Human and physical resources
Through Project 10 000, the SAPS trained and deployed 20 000 police officers in the last two years to capacitate frontline policing services, as well as specialised units with a key focus on the Public Order Police (POP) unit.
Seventy-nine police officers have been trained and deployed as drone pilots to assist in crime prevention and policing operations.
Public Order Police
In the past year, 5 000 police officers have been trained in crowd management and deployed to serve in the POP unit.
R150 million was also allocated to procure resources to bolster crowd management equipment for the unit.
Training has also been enhanced for members and now includes crowd psychology to improve the management and policing of crowds and gatherings.
The SAPS has also benchmarked and compared with other police organisations, in terms of use of the minimum force to disperse large crowds and found that its current equipment and techniques, such as the use of water canons, rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse violent crowd situations, is in line with international standards.
However, the SAPS is continuously researching and updating training material in respect of techniques and equipment in use during crowd management to minimise the risk of human rights violation and prevent the excessive use of force.
Rebuilding trust between SAPS and communities
The Ministry of Police is continuously taking part in community participation programmes through community engagements during izimbizo, walkabouts and policing operations such as roadblocks.
Various community policing concepts are being implemented by the SAPS.
"Through the Community Police Forum (CPF) and sector crime forums, SAPS is able to forge and promote a shared responsibility on crime prevention and community safety.
"All 1 163 police stations currently have fully functional CPF forums. R70million was allocated in this financial year to resource and capacitate these CPF structures," SAPS said.
Case management
SAPS arrested 5 341 suspects, with 505 of those arrested being found guilty of various charges ranging from murder, attempted murder, arson, possession of stolen property, and malicious damage to property.
A total of 394 cases are still in court
Incitement to commit violence cases
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) is currently investigating eight cases of incitement to commit violence.
The DPCI has arrested 68 suspects, 65 of them were charged for contravening the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act 33 of 2004 (POCDATARA).
One accused has already been sentenced to 12 years direct imprisonment for incitement to commit public violence and conspiracy to commit public violence.
"The SAPS respects the work done by the two Commissions, especially as they are Chapter 9 institutions and will respond accordingly in terms of the timeframes reflected in the report," said SAPS. – SAnews.gov.za
