Dockets linked to murders, robberies, and other serious crimes are being stored in ordinary offices at most police stations in the Western Cape because detectives do not have access to a secure, lockable storage room.
The issue affected 125 of the province’s 151 stations, police oversight and community safety MEC Anroux Marais revealed in a recent written reply to the provincial legislature.
She was answering a question from MPL Benedicta van Minnen.
Marais said the number came from the department’s police census in the 2023/24 financial year, which checked all 151 stations in the province.
She said the department has not done a newer audit, so “the situation may have changed”.
“One hundred and twenty-five police stations did not have a strongroom for the detective service,” Marais said.
The audit also found other basic problems that slow police work.
Most stations struggled with technology and buildings.
“Sixty-nine police stations had poor network connectivity, 121 had slow systems, particularly the Integrated Case Docket Management System,” she said.
“Eighty-one police stations had insufficient SAPS 13 Storage, 68% insufficient archive storage, and 51 did not have safes for the detective service.”
Vehicles and tracking systems have issues too.
“Fifty-four police stations had some vehicles that are not suitable for the terrain within their policing precinct,” she said.
“Fifty stations with operational vehicles fitted with the Automated Vehicle Location System, indicated that the [latter] is not functional hence it cannot be used for tracking patrols and other policing activities.”
On basic gear, Marais said there were 71,765 pepper sprays, 19,014 service firearms, 21,173 handcuffs, 23,418 batons, 26,418 flashlights and 8,466 two-way radios.
Anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee said it was “deeply concerning”.
“Police dockets and evidence are the backbone of any criminal investigation,” he said.
“If sensitive case files involving murder, robbery, rape and organised crime are being stored in ordinary offices rather than secure, access-controlled facilities, it raises serious questions about the integrity of investigations.
“The risks are obvious: dockets can be lost, tampered with, stolen or accessed by unauthorised individuals.”
He said in a country already battling low conviction rates and concerns about criminal cases collapsing, proper safeguarding of evidence should be non-negotiable.
“The revelation that 125 of 151 police stations in the Western Cape lack secure storage for detectives suggests a systemic infrastructure problem rather than isolated shortcomings,” he said.
IOL
Brandon Nel
iol.co.za