South African Police Service

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South African Police Service
Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens
SAPS badge.svg
South African Police Service badge
Flag of the South African Police Service.svg
South African Police Service flag
AbbreviationSAPS
Agency overview
Formed1995
Preceding agencies
Employees171,692 (2021/22)
Jurisdictional structure
National agency South Africa
Operations jurisdiction South Africa
Size1,219,090 km2
Population62,091,133 (2022 census)
Constituting instruments
  • Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996, Chapter 11, Section 205
  • South African Police Service Act 68 of 1995
General nature
Operational structure
Officers117,950 (2022/23)
Civilians52,792 (2019/20)
Minister of Police responsible
Agency executive
  • General Sehlahle Fannie Masemola, National Police Commissioner
Divisions
6
  • Visible Policing
  • Cluster Coordination
  • Detective Service
  • Crime Intelligence
  • Criminal Record and Forensic Science Services
  • Protection and Security Services
Provincials
9
  • Eastern Cape
  • Free State
  • Gauteng
  • Kwazulu-Natal
  • Mpumalanga
  • Northern Cape
  • Limpopo
  • North West
  • Western Cape
Facilities
Stations1,138 (2014/15)
Website
www.saps.gov.za
[1]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations [2] in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in each province. The nine Provincial Commissioners report directly to the National Commissioner. The head office is in the Wachthuis Building in Pretoria. [3]

Contents

The Constitution of South Africa lays down that the South African Police Service has a responsibility to prevent, combat and investigate crime, maintain public order, protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic and their property, uphold and enforce the law, create a safe and secure environment for all people in South Africa, prevent anything that may threaten the safety or security of any community, investigate any crimes that threaten the safety or security of any community, ensure criminals are brought to justice and participate in efforts to address the causes of crime. [4]

Amnesty International and others have expressed serious concerns about South African police brutality, including torture and extrajudicial killings. [5] [6] [7]

History

Colonial years

The South African Police Service traces its origin to the Dutch Watch, a paramilitary organisation formed by settlers in the Cape Province in 1655 to protect civilians and to maintain law and order. In 1795, British officials assumed control over the Dutch Watch, and in 1825 established the Cape Constabulary (which became the Cape Town Police Force in 1840). In 1854, a police force was established in Durban which would become the Durban Borough Police, and in 1935 the Durban City Police (DCP). [8] Act 3 of 1855 established the Frontier Armed and Mounted Police Force in the Eastern Cape, restyled as the Cape Mounted Riflemen in 1878. [9]

1913-1994

The South African Police (SAP) was created after the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1913. Four years later, the Mounted Riflemen's Association relinquished its civilian responsibilities to the SAP as most of its riflemen left to serve in the First World War. The SAP and the military maintained a close relationship even after the SAP assumed permanent responsibility for domestic law and order in 1926. Police officials often called on the army for support in case of emergencies. During the Second World War, one SAP brigade served with the 2nd Infantry Division of the South African Army in North Africa.

When the National Party (NP) edged out its more liberal opponents in nationwide elections in 1948, the new government enacted legislation that strengthened the relationship between the police and the military. Police subsequently became heavily armed, especially when facing unruly or hostile crowds. The Police Act (No. 7) of 1958 broadened the mission of the SAP beyond conventional police functions, and allowed police to quell civil unrest and conduct counterinsurgency operations. The Police Amendment Act (No. 70) of 1965 allowed police to detain any person, receptacle, vehicle, aircraft, or premises within one mile of any national border, and to seize anything found without a warrant. This search-and-seize zone was extended to within eight miles of any border in 1979 and to the entire country in 1983.

Post-apartheid (1994–present)

The new Minister of Safety and Security, Sydney Mufamadi, obtained police training assistance from Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom, and Canada and proclaimed that racial tolerance and human rights would be central to police training in the future. By the end of 1995, the SAPS had incorporated the ten police agencies of the former homelands, and had reorganised at both national and provincial level.

The Investigative Psychology Unit (IPU), also referred to as Investigative Psychology Section (IPS), was founded by forensic psychologist Micki Pistorius [10] in 1996. Elmarie Myburgh was a founding member It was then a division of the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit, later being moved to the Detective Service, and from June 2008 to the Criminal Record and Forensic Science Service (CRFSS). At that time, it comprised only three members at national head office level, led by Gerard Labuschagne. [11]

Organisation

Patrol in Stellenbosch Wine Expo 2014 1.jpg
Patrol in Stellenbosch

South African Police Service headquarters in located in Pretoria.

Divisions

As of March 2023, there were three Deputy National Commissioners, with each of these split into divisions as follows: [12]

Rank structure

A new ranking system of the South African Police Service was adopted in April 2010. [13] The change caused some controversy as new ranks like "general" and "colonel" have a military connotation. Furthermore, the new rank system mirrors the system used by the South African Police during the apartheid era. In 2009, Deputy Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula spoke of making the police a paramilitary force by changing the SAPS ranking system so that it would closely mirror the military ranking system. This created a significant amount of controversy from people critical of what they called the "militarisation" of the police. [14] [15] [16]

The ranking system was amended in 2016. The role of regional police commissioner was introduced, with the rank of lieutenant general. The major and lieutenant ranks were eliminated, with lieutenants assuming the rank of captain and majors assuming the rank of lieutenant colonel. [17] [18]

Current senior staff

As of 2024 the National Commissioner is Lt. Gen. Sehlahle Fannie Masemola, [19] who was appointed on 31 March 2022. [20] [21] Leon Mbangwa is Chief of Staff. [22]

SAPS organisational profile

SAPS organisational profile (March 2023) [12]
RankNumber of officers/employees
Ministerial personnel30
National Commissioner (General)1
Deputy National Commissioner (Lt. Gen.)4
Div. Commissioners/National Head/Deputy Nat. Head, other top management (Lt. Gen.)12
Provincial Commissioners (Lt. Gen.)9
Major General156
Brigadier623
Colonel2,417
Lieutenant Colonel5,975
Captain12,155
Non-commissioned officers123,896
Public Service Act employees34,226
Total employees179,502
Police ranks of South Africa: Commissioned Officers
GroupSenior Management
Rank General (Gen) Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Major General (Maj Gen) Brigadier
RoleDesignation of
National Commissioner		Actg. National Commissioner,
Deputy National Commissioner,
Regional Commissioner,
Provincial Commissioner,
Divisional Commissioner
Insignia SouthAfrica-Police-OF-9.svg SouthAfrica-Police-OF-8.svg SouthAfrica-Police-OF-7.svg SouthAfrica-Police-OF-6.svg
Police ranks of South Africa: Commissioned Officers
GroupJunior Management
Rank Colonel (Col) Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Captain
Insignia SouthAfrica-Police-OF-5.svg SouthAfrica-Police-OF-4.svg SouthAfrica-Police-OF-2.svg
Police ranks of South Africa : Non-commissioned Officers
GroupOther Ranks
Rank Warrant Officer (WO) Sergeant (Sgt) Constable (Const)
Insignia SouthAfrice-Police-Warrant Officer.svg SouthAfrice-Police-Sergeant.svg SouthAfrice-Police-Constable.svg

Resources

Vehicles

Through the early-1990s, the police were equipped with smoke and tear-gas dispensing vehicles, tank trucks with water cannons, vehicles that dispensed barbed wire or razor wire to cordon off areas, and a number of rotor and fixed wing aircraft for surveillance, ground force management, rapid deployment of Task Force and specialist teams to crime scenes and VIP personnel movements. The RG-12 'Nyala' is on the most commonly used armoured vehicle of the service. The Casspir Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle is another notable vehicle used by the police.[ citation needed ]

Aviation

As of October 2023, with the arrival of a new helicopter, the SAPS Air Wing operates a fleet of 34 aeroplanes and helicopters. The Air Wing has about 50 pilots and 300 other personnel. [24]

Fleet

The SAPS Air Wing fleet consists of: [25]

Firearms

Officers with Vektor R5 rifles in Johannesburg, 2010 South african police may 2010.jpg
Officers with Vektor R5 rifles in Johannesburg, 2010

South African Police Service officers generally carry a Vektor Z88 9mm pistol and pepper spray. Each patrol car is usually also equipped a R5 rifle. To quell disturbances a variety of firearms are used, including BXP sub-machine gun, Musler 12 gauge shotgun (capable of firing anti-riot rubber bullets contained in standard 12 bore shotgun cartridges), as well as tear gas and pencil flares. The R1 rifle has been withdrawn from all front-line police armories since the mid-1990s, but is still used by elements of the Special Task Force.[ citation needed ]

Criticism and controversies

Public trust in the South African Police Service between 1998 and 2021. The Marikana Massacre (2012) and Zuma Riots (2021) are highlighted. [26]

Administration

Since the departure of democratic South Africa's first National commissioner George Fivaz in January 2000, a number of successive commissioners have been unable to complete a single term in office, most implicated in and charged with misconduct. [27] [28]

The distribution of personnel has been controversial, with local legislators questioning why areas most in need of policing resources are being neglected. [29] The department was criticised by the Western Cape Government for providing the lowest number personnel (adjusted for population) with a shortage of 2,392 officers, [30] despite having the highest murder rate. [31] [32] This was the subject of the Khayelitsha Commission in 2012.

Brutality and repression

Amnesty International has expressed concerns about police brutality, including torture and extrajudicial killings, in South Africa. [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] There has also been concern about brutal training methods for the police. [39] According to Peter Jordi from the Wits Law Clinic "[Police] Torture is spiralling out of control. It is happening everywhere." [40] Brandon Edmonds argues that "The cops prey on the poor in this country." [41] Independent studies have confirmed that the SAPS has been used to repress peaceful marches. [42] In April 2009, SAPS attempted to ban unFreedom Day [43] and was implicated in support for September 2009 ANC mob that attacked the elected leadership of the shack settlement at Kennedy Road, Durban. [44] [45] [46] Police officers have also been accused of excessive policing in Blikkiesdorp in Delft, Cape Town, by suppression of freedom and ordering illegal curfews. [47] [48] [49]

In 2011, 630 police officers from Gauteng Province were arrested for fraud and corruption, rape and murder. [50] An April 2012 editorial in The Times opined: "It seems torture and outright violation of human rights is becoming the order of the day for some of our police officers and experts warn that the line between criminals and our law enforcement officers is "blurred"." [51]

In February 2013, police in Daveyton, Gauteng were caught on video brutalising Mido Macia, a Mozambican taxi driver accused of parking illegally. Macia was handcuffed to a police van and dragged through the streets, later succumbing to his injuries. [52] Eight police officers were arrested and later convicted of murder. [53]

Three police officers were arrested for the controversial shooting of Nathaniel Julies, a 16 year-old boy with down syndrome, in Eldorado Park. [ citation needed ]

Marikana massacre

The Marikana Massacre, [54] was a mass shooting that occurred when police broke up a gathering by striking Lonmin workers on a 'koppie' (hilltop) near the Nkaneng shack settlement in Marikana on 16 August 2012. 34 miners were killed and 78 miners injured, causing anger and public outcry, fueled by reports that most of the victims were shot from behind [55] and many shot far from police lines. [56] It later emerged that the violence had actually started on 11 August when leaders from the National Union of Mineworkers opened fire on striking NUM members killing two. [57] It is alleged that police did nothing in the aftermath thereby creating a situation in which workers felt that they would have to use other means to protect themselves. [58] Between 12 and 14 August, approximately 8 more people were killed including two policemen and two security guards. [59] It is the country's deadliest incident between police and the civilian population since the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, and has been referred to as a turning-point in post-1994 South Africa. [60] [61] [62]

Corruption

On 10 September 2007 an arrest warrant was issued by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi (Interpol president from 2004 to 2008). On 23 September 2007, President Mbeki suspended NPA Head Vusi Pikoli, allegedly because of "an irretrievable breakdown" in the relationship between Pikoli and Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla. However, journalists at the Mail and Guardian claim to have solid information supporting the widespread suspicion that President Mbeki suspended Pikoli as part of a bid to shield Police Commissioner Selebi. [63] According to the Mail and Guardian on 5 October 2007 the NPA was investigating Selebi for corruption, fraud, racketeering and defeating the ends of justice. [63] Selebi was found guilty of corruption in July 2010, but not guilty of further charges of perverting the course of justice. [64]

In February 2011 Bheki Cele was implicated in unlawful conduct and maladministration with a R500m lease agreement for the new police headquarters in Pretoria. [65] In October 2011, President Jacob Zuma announced that Cele had been suspended pending an investigation into the agreement. [66] After recommendation from a board of inquiry, Zuma dismissed Cele and announced that Riah Phiyega, the first female commissioner, would replace him. [67]

In February 2018, SAPS Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane, who was also former acting SAPS Commissioner, and his wife appeared in court on charges of fraud and corruption. [68] [69] [70] On 30 July 2020, Phahlane was dismissed from the police after three years on suspension. [71] The same day, he was found guilty of dishonest conduct. [71]

On 12 July 2019, it was announced the five North West Province police officers were arrested during the week in three separate corruption cases. [72] On 4 June 2020, six senior Gauteng police officers where among 14 people arrested on corruption charges. [73] Two other senior officers, now retired, were arrested as well. [74] Among the Guateng-based SAPS officers charged with corruption included three brigadiers and a retired SAPS Lieutenant General. [74]

On 12 October 2020, Lieutenant-General Bonang Mgwenya, the country's second-most senior police official, was arrested on charges of corruption, fraud, theft and money laundering involving about R200-million and afterwards appeared in Ridge Magistrates court. [75] At the time of Mgwenya's arrest, she and Phahlane were among 14 fellow officers who were charged with corruption. [75] Mgwenya was suspended on 15 October 2020 and was dismissed from SAPS on 13 November 2020. [76]

On 23 December 2020, four Cape Town police officers attached to the national border control unit at Cape Town International Airport were arrested for extorting money from Chinese businesses. [77]

On 23 December 2020, Peter Ntsime, Acting Deputy General Secretary of the South African Policing Union (SAPU), reported that Colonel Kamelash Dalip Singh, a senior SAPU policeman from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit, was arrested, and then released on bail, on a bribe charge. Ntsime criticised the arrest, stating Singh was at the forefront of arresting crooked police officers and was onto a big syndicate. Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) spokesperson, Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo, said that undercover Hawks officers caught Singh red-handed accepting a R5,000 bribe. [78]

On 28 December 2020, three law enforcement officers who were employed by the Emalahleni Municipality were arrested in Mpumalanga on corruption and bribery charges which involved allegations of not issuing standard fines to motorists who committed traffic violations, but instead extorting them for bribes. [79]

In 2022, two criminal charges were lodged by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate against the National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole for refusing to cooperate with its investigation into the murder of Charl Kinnear. Kinnear was a police intelligence officer investigating organised crime within the SAPS. [80]

List of former National Commissioners

National Commissioners
FromCommissioners of the South African PoliceTo
1913 (1913)Colonel Sir Theodorus Gustaff Truter CMG KBE KPM [81] [82] 1928
1928Major General Isaac Pierre de Villiers CB MC KStJ [83] [84] : 8 1940
1940Brigadier George Robson Carruthers Baston KPM [85] [86] 1945 [a]
1 August 1945Major General Robert John Palmer CVO KPM DSO & two bars [87] [88] [89] [90] [91] [b] [92] 1951
1951Major General Jan-Kamas Brink1954
1954Major General Corrie I. Rademeyer1960
1960Lieutenant General Hendrik Jacobus du Plooy MVO 1962
1962Lieutenant General Johannes Martinus Keevy1968
1968General Johannes Petrus Gous1971
1971General G. J. Joubert SOO 1973
1973General Theodorus J. Crous1975
1975General Gert L. Prinsloo1978
1978General Michiel Christian Wilhelm Geldenhuys SED SOO SOE SD 1983
1 June 1983General Petrus Johann Coetzee SSA SED SOO SOE SD 1987
1987General Hennie G. de Witt1989
1990General Johan Velde van der Merwe SSAS SOE 1996
FromCommissioners of the South African Police ServiceTo
29 January 1995General John George Fivaz SSA SOE [93] [94] : 17 31 December 1999
1 January 2000General J. "Jackie" S. Selebi 2009
July 2009General Bheki H. Cele [95] [c] October 2011
2011Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi [96] 2012
2012General Mangwashi Victoria Phiyega SOEG 2015
15 October 2015Lieutenant General Khomotso Phahlane [d] 1 June 2017
1 June 2017Lieutenant General Lesetja Mothiba [e] 22 November 2017
22 November 2017General Khehla John Sitole SOE [97] [f] 31 March 2022
31 March 2022Lt General Sehlahle Fannie Masemola [98] present

Battle honours

Police units earned battle honours in both world wars and in border wars with Rhodesia.

First World War

Battle Honours
First World War
South West Africa 1914-1915 Embroidered.png
South West Africa 1914-1915 Embroidered.png
German East Africa 1916-1918 Embroidered.png

Second World War

Battle Honours
Second World War
Western Desert 1941-43 Embroidered.png
Gazala Embroidered.png
Bardia Embroidered.png
Point 204 Embroidered.png
Sollum Embroidered.png
Halfaya Embroidered.png
Commonwealth Keep Embroidered.png
Tobruk Embroidered.png

Other

Battle Honours
Others Awarded
Rhodesia 1967-75 Embroidered.png

Notes

  1. ↑ Brig George CR Baston was acting Commissioner of the South African Police Force (1940 - 1945) whilst Maj Gen IP de Villiers served in the Union Defence Force
  2. ↑ General Palmer was awarded the DSO and two bars, that is three awards of the DSO [88] [91] [90] as well as the American Bronze Star. [89]
  3. ↑ Subsequently Minister of Police
  4. ↑ Acting
  5. ↑ Acting
  6. ↑ Term ended by mutual agreement between him and the president

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References

  1. ↑ "SAPS Profile". South African Police Service. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
  2. ↑ "South Africa Yearbook 2019/20 | Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)". www.gcis.gov.za. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  3. ↑ "Contact Us ." South African Police Service. Retrieved on 21 November 2017. "SAPS Head Office Wachthuis Building 231 Pretorius Street Pretoria[...] GPS Coordinates: S25.74790 E28.18901"
  4. ↑ "SAPS: PROFILE – Vision and Mission". Archived from the original on 2 September 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  5. ↑ No end in sight for police brutality in South Africa, Justice Malala, The Guardian, 21 February 2013
  6. ↑ Footsoliders in a social war: the police, crime and inequality in South Africa CHRISTOPHER MCMICHAEL, Open Democracy, 25 October 2013
  7. ↑ Amnesty International South Africa Report, 2012
  8. ↑ Newham, Gareth; Themba Masuku and Lulama Gomomo. "Metropolitan Police Services in South Africa, 2002". csvr.org.za. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  9. ↑ McCracken, Donal P (1991). "The Irish in South Africa – The Police, A Case Study (Part 20)". Irish Times. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  10. ↑ Labuschagne, Gérard. "The Profiler Diaries: From the case files of a police psychologist Penguin Random House South Africa". Penguin Random House South Africa. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  11. ↑ Omar, Bilkis (8 March 2008). "Investigating psychologically motivated crimes: The work of the SAPS Investigative Psychology Unit". South African Crime Quarterly (25). doi:10.17159/2413-3108/2008/i25a948 (inactive 2 November 2024). ISSN   2413-3108 . Retrieved 13 March 2024.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  12. 1 2 South African Police Service, Strategic Management (31 August 2023). "9. Organisational structure, as at 31 March 2023". South African Police Services ANNUAL REPORT 2022/2023 (PDF) (Report). RP number 196/2023. South African Police Services. p. 30. ISBN   978-0-621-51233-5.
  13. ↑ "New rank structure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  14. ↑ The professor and the police minister. Paul Trewhela, 25 October 2009
  15. ↑ Asmal: Militarisation of police is "craziness" Mail & Guardian, 19 October 2009
  16. ↑ Green Zone Nation: The South African government’s new growth path, Open Democracy, 19 March 2012
  17. ↑ "Police rank reform the best in years". IOL. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  18. ↑ "Police To Introduce New Regional Commissioner Rank". Eyewitness News. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  19. ↑ "South African Police Service (SAPS)". South African Government. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  20. ↑ Chabalala, Jeanette (31 March 2022). "Fannie Masemola named new national police commissioner". News24. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  21. ↑ "Services". SAPS (South African Police Service). 31 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  22. ↑ "Department of Police (SAPS)". Management. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  23. ↑ "Services | SAPS (South African Police Service)". www.saps.gov.za. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  24. ↑ Helfrich, Kim (10 October 2023). "Two new helicopters for SAPS Air Wing". DefenceWeb. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  25. ↑ Martin, Guy (19 March 2024). "Armscor seeking troop carrying helicopter for the SAPS". defenceWeb. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  26. ↑ "Changing patterns of trust in the police in South Africa". HSRC. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  27. ↑ Khaas, Tebogo (5 November 2017). "Black Monday: We are going backwards". News24. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
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  33. ↑ Amnesty red flag police brutality, Craig Dodds, 13 May 2011
  34. ↑ Amnesty International South Africa Report 2011
  35. ↑ See for instance this statement by Abahlali baseMjondolo
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  40. ↑ 'Predator police' in reign of terror GRAEME HOSKEN, The Times, 30 April 2012
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  42. ↑ See, for instance, a report on illegal police repression in South Africa by the Freedom of Expression Institute [usurped]
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  51. ↑ If the police are no better than thugs, who will save us?, Editorial, The Times, 30 April 2012
  52. ↑ "President Zuma of South Africa shocked over 'police dragging'". BBC News. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
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  55. ↑ Striking South African miners 'were shot in the back', The Daily Telegraph, 27 August 2012
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See also

[[Category:Arrests

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