Chairperson, the ACDP will support all legal measures that are taken by the police to nail criminals and to reduce the unacceptably high levels of crime in our country. The fact that the current legislation, as set out in section 37 of the Criminal Procedure Second Amendment Act, Act 85 of 1997, does not make the taking of fingerprints compulsory, even in instances where a person has been convicted of an offence, is a serious oversight.
The taking of fingerprints of certain categories of persons must be compulsory, as we believe it will lead to a significant increase in suspect- to-crime-scene matches. The ACDP believes the police should not only have access to the fingerprints stored on their database, but to all fingerprint databases in the country.
It is unfortunate that even though members of the public have been complaining about low conviction rates, as suspects could not be linked to crimes, the SAPS did not have access to the Hanis system of the Department of Home Affairs, where fingerprints of 31 million citizens and about 2,5 million foreigners are stored, or to the e-NaTIS system of the Department of Transport, where a further 6 million thumbprints are located.
What is of concern to the ACDP, however, is the possible misuse of or tampering with the profiles on the expanded database, even though the committee reached consensus that such abuses must carry a 15-year sentence without the option of a fine. The storage and integrity of the fingerprints database must be tight and unquestionable at all times. The ACDP will definitely support this Bill, as it will enhance the work of the police. Thank you.