Cops or criminals? SAPS struggles with corruption and detective exodus

John Maytham (in for CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit) is joined by Ian Cameron, chair of the Portfolio Committee on Police.

Listen below:

South Africa’s fight against crime is being crippled by a critical shortage of detectives, many of whom are leaving their posts in droves, with no plan in place to retain them.

The result? Thousands of serious cases, from murder to gender-based violence, risk going unsolved as the system buckles under pressure.

Shocking figures presented to Parliament this week revealed hundreds of vacancies across the country.

The worry is that the justice system is failing victims long before cases ever reach a courtroom, so criminals are literally getting away with murder.

Cameron says the problem is that, for a long time, South Africa has followed a very old-fashioned policing model.

"We threw a whole lot of uniform members at the problem and it is not a sustainable solution."

- Ian Cameron, Chair - Portfolio Committee on Police

Without detectives, says Cameron, there can be no arrests. Without arrests there can be no convictions.

"We're losing close to 60 detectives annually. I personally assume that number is quite a bit higher."

- Ian Cameron, Chair - Portfolio Committee on Police

Cameron says one of the key recommendations to SAPS is to develop a proper retention strategy to stop the exodus of experienced detectives.

"Part of that includes financial incentives and just general incentives - at the moment detectives don't get paid overtime."

- Ian Cameron, Chair - Portfolio Committee on Police

"It's far more lucrative to be a uniformed members in SAPS than it is to be a detective."

- Ian Cameron, Chair - Portfolio Committee on Police

Another critical priority is rooting out criminal elements within SAPS itself.

Cameron highlights a shocking case in the Western Cape, where a detective was caught working with a local gang, weighing their drugs.

"He was arrested for it, and guess what? He's back at work, helping to investigate serious gang-related matters."

- Ian Cameron, Chair - Portfolio Committee on Police

Failing to remove the 'bad apples' creates apathy among the 'good' detectives, says Cameron.

"Because not only do you have to fight criminals on the outside, you have to work with criminals on the inside."

- Ian Cameron, Chair - Portfolio Committee on Police

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