Chart of the week: Policing the police

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is the police watchdog responsible for investigating police officers who break the law while on duty. But IPID has a massive backlog.

In 2023/24, IPID received 5,136 cases and finalised 4,669 investigations. But less than half of the finalised cases were from that year — most of them were from previous years. By the end of the year, IPID had a backlog of 19,055 cases actively under investigation.

When IPID finishes an investigation, it is referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for criminal prosecution and/or back to South African Police Services (SAPS) for disciplinary processes. About 2,400 were referred to SAPS and 2,000 to the NPA.

Low conviction rate

In 2023, only 84 criminal cases were concluded by the NPA with 43 ending in conviction. The rest ended in acquittal. SAPS finalised 404 disciplinary cases of which 254 ended in conviction and 191 in acquittal.

Most common offences

Assault is the most common offence reported to IPID, with 3,000 cases reported in 2023. This is followed by deaths as a result of police action (460) and rape by a police officer (110).

During the covid lockdowns in 2020, assault cases spiked, with 4,228 reported to IPID.

Of the police officers criminally convicted in 2023, 20 were for assault, 13 for deaths as a result of police action, and three for rape by a police officer.

In SAPS’s disciplinary processes, there were 127 convictions for assault, 22 for deaths as a result of police action, 18 for rape by a police officer, and eight for torture.

Police impunity

GroundUp is following several cases where police officers are accused of breaking the law. Examples include:

• A man was shot and killed by an off-duty cop in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. The police officer has been charged with murder, yet SAPS says disciplinary processes are still ongoing and would not confirm whether he has been suspended or dismissed. There are rumours that he has been transferred to another station.
• A man died in police custody in Flagstaff, Eastern Cape. IPID is still investigating, and SAPS did not comment on the status of disciplinary proceedings.
• The criminal trial of 14 officers accused of torturing and murdering Regan Naidoo in 2018 in Durban has faced multiple postponements.
• In 2023, the brutal assault of a man by police officers was caught on CCTV in Mowbray, Cape Town. Three police officers were arrested and charged in April 2024, but the matter has yet to go to trial. SAPS would not to indicate whether the three officers have been suspended or dismissed.
• The case of a taxi driver who died in Retreat, Cape Town, as a result of blunt force trauma, allegedly inflicted by police officers in November 2024, is still under investigation by IPID.

Chart produced by The Outlier in partnership with GroundUp.

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