The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) will present its last Domestic Violence Reports for January 2011 to March 2012. The reports, which have been tabled in Parliament already, will be presented to the committee in terms of the work done by the IPID’s predecessor, the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD). As from 1 April 2012, the mandate to monitor the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) by the SAPS has been transferred to the Secretariat for Police.
In terms of the DVA and the National Instructions on Domestic Violence, whenever a complaint of non-compliance with the DVA and National Instructions is made, police management must either take disciplinary action against a member who is alleged to have failed to comply with his/her obligations in terms of the act and/or national instructions, or apply for exemption from prosecution – motivating with valid reasons why such disciplinary action should not be taken. The ICD would then consider the motivation and either grant or decline the application for exemption.
One hundred and four complaints of non-compliance were received during the period January 2011 to March 2012 of which 32% were in the Western Cape and 18% in Gauteng. 13% occurred in the Eastern Cape and 10% took place in the Free State. The North West and Northern Cape each had 7% of the reported incidents, whereas 6% were in KwaZulu-Natal. Limpopo and Mpumalanga had 4% and 3% respectively.
Thirty-five % of the complaints related to failure to arrest the abuser where an offence containing an element of violence has been committed and 17% related to failure to arrest the alleged transgressor where a warrant of arrest has been issued.
Of the one hundred and four complaints received, only 19 applications for exemption were received by the ICD. There was therefore a shortfall of 85 applications. This means that police management should have taken disciplinary action against their members in the 85 cases mentioned as required by the act and national instructions.
The reports go further to give a breakdown of the station audits conducted per province. Out of 101 station audits conducted in the period January to June 2011, only 12 were fully compliant with the relevant prescripts. The rest were either partially compliant or non-compliant. In the period July 2011 to March 2012, out of 162 police stations audited, only 27 stations were fully compliant.
Our findings in respect of the monitoring of the implementation of the DVA by the SAPS include:
- Failure to apply for exemption
- Lack of understanding of the obligations to DVA
- Record keeping is still a concern:
- The 508(a) forms are not filed properly
- The 508(b) registers are not completed properly
- Some copies of the 508(a) forms were not filed although the matters pertaining thereto were registered in the 508(b) register
- Domestic Violence Act and National Instruction not readily available
- A list of service providers is not available or updated
- Copies of protection orders and warrants of arrest were not filed properly
- No file of domestic violence warrants kept.
The report to Parliament also indicates that the IPID will not deal with matters pertaining to the Domestic Violence Act as from 1 April 2012 - this function has been transferred to the Secretariat of Police. The necessary training and handover have been done.
For enquiries:
IPID National Spokesman
Moses Dlamini
Cell: 082 809 1927
E-mail: mdlamini@icd.gov.za
