Chairperson, and hon members, the Portfolio Committee on Police conducted an oversight visit to the Bishop Lavis Training Academy and four police stations in the Western Cape, including the Stellenbosch, Cloetesville, Robertson and Atlantis police stations, from 25 to 28 January 2011.
The key objectives of the visits were to: assess the readiness of the academy to implement the recently revised basic training curriculum and determine challenges faced at the academy following negative media reports, and assess service delivery at police station level and the implementation of the policy and legislation passed by Parliament, as well as the implementation of the budget, as approved by Parliament.
Key observations noted by the committee at the Bishop Lavis Training Academy include the following. Firstly, the committee acknowledged the passion and dedication to good conduct that was articulated by the management, particularly the head of training, at the time of the committee's arrival.
Secondly, there still does not seem to be a direct enough link between the theoretical training received at the academy and the field training that trainees receive at police stations. However, the fact that they are now required to return to the academy after their 12 months' field training may assist in addressing this concern.
Thirdly, the barracks were relatively tidy, but a concern was voiced by female trainees about a lack of privacy, in that they are housed in dormitories holding 38 trainees, while the male trainees are housed in double rooms. The ablution facilities were in a poor state of repair and many of the toilets were not in working order. Basic maintenance issues were not identified and addressed before the beginning of a new year and a new intake of trainees. Inspections were not conducted regularly, and the committee felt that staff of the academy were not setting a good example to the trainees.
Lastly, a concern noted by the committee was the fact that both the tuck shop and the mess are run as semi-official institutions, thus generating their own funds which are kept in a separate bank account. Permission may be granted for those funds to be used to buy other things for the institutions, such as a sound system, or for general maintenance requirements. The committee was concerned that this arrangement opened the academy up to the possibility of abuse and corruption, especially as the mess had an amount of over R1,5 million in its account, and the books were not properly kept and audited.
However, the key concern lay in the interaction of the committee with the unions. The committee met with the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union, Popcru, and the South African Police Union, Sapu, who expressed a number of concerns, including: allegations of nepotism and victimisation of union members by management; ill-discipline among staff members, including the high levels of absenteeism and lack of disciplinary action taken by management; lack of communication between union members and management; and training staff representing trainees during disciplinary hearings.
The committee recommended that intervention by the national office is required. This is to ensure the resolution of the breakdown in the relationship between management and staff at the academy, as it has the potential to undermine the integrity of the training.
In its visits to the four police stations, the following overarching observations were made. It was noted that there was inadequate control over the firearms safes containing the firearms of SAPS members. This poses a risk in regard to opportunities for loss and theft. Ensuring effective control over SAPS firearms should be prioritised at national level. Lack of effective control was noted at the Stellenbosch and Atlantis Police Stations. In addition, it was a concern that the Robertson Police Station had a real surplus of service firearms, many of which are not needed at the station and are kept in storage.
The committee is still concerned about the lack of proper implementation of legislation such as the Domestic Violence Act, the Child Justice Act, and others. The committee has recommended that the best practice in police stations should be shared and, where required, additional training on the implementation of legislation should be provided.
A number of serious concerns were also apparent amongst the detectives in all the stations. They are not using statistics as a management tool and many of them have not undergone any training.
It was noted that many firearms which were handed in during the amnesty period were still in the police stations. In many cases, these amnesty firearms were kept together with exhibit firearms, which may lead to the contamination of evidence. This is a problem.
Ill-discipline amongst staff members in the SAPS was apparent, both at the academy and at many of the police stations visited by the committee. There is a level of insolence towards management and even towards committee members that is not acceptable in a disciplined organisation. I thank you very much. [Time expired.]
Debate concluded.