The National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Fannie Masemola has clarified the 4000 alleged unlawful arrests and R2 billion payout by police in the 2023/2024 financial year.
General Masemola says 4100 are only claims lodged by those who were arrested and that the SAPS legal division is interrogating the merits of each case and that the SAPS has not yet paid these litigants.
Each case is treated according to its merits, which will determine if the SAPS needs to settle or defend the matter further. It is important to note that not all claims received are paid out according to the initial litigation.
Based on the nature of the police work, SAPS is constitutionally mandated to effect arrests and detention and it doesn’t necessarily mean that these arrests are wrongful and unlawful.
The SAPS has implemented a project to ensure the down management of civil claims. The inspectorate, visible policing & operations as well as detectives divisions are continuously embarking on compliance inspections at police stations and all service points where awareness and training on how to prevent and reduce civil claims are conducted.
The SAPS has implemented a number of measures to ensure that compliance to arrest and detention directives are followed. There are also policies in place to down manage civil claims in the organization , the SAPS remains committed to good governance, ethical behaviour and consequence management within its ranks.
Possible corruption and collusion is also being investigated.
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