South African Police Service Objectives, SAPS is divided into various specialist divisions which ensure its successful operation. The most important public interfaces are the following:
The Crime Intelligence Division
This division of the SAPS is responsible for managing information-gathering and centralised intelligence management, co-ordination and analysis. It also gives technical intelligence support to the operational components of crime intelligence and, where necessary, to other operational divisions of the SAPS.
The Crime Prevention Division
This division aims to reduce opportunities to commit crime by optimising visible policing. The division is also responsible for developing, maintaining and monitoring policy standards and directives regarding crime prevention and uniformed services in general. The division’s three main components are Social Crime Prevention, Visible Policing and Police Emergency Services.
Social Crime Prevention division deals with crimes affecting the social fabric of society, including crimes against women and children, as well as community-based crime prevention.
Visible Policing is responsible for combating crime through crime operations, police-station activities and high visibility, and the availability of police officials at grassroots level.
Police Emergency Services renders a rapid response service in respect of crimes in progress, and provides dog and mounted services. Hostage negotiators and police divers render specialised services as a secondary function.
The SAPS Dog and Mounted Service has been recognised as an important element of the SAPS crime-fighting strategy. The SAPS Dog Service provides policing services nationally, including at national ports of entry. These services are provided through its well-trained dogs, which include tracking of explosives, narcotics and protected species; search-and-rescue; tracker; fire-investigation; carcass-and-hide; and patrol and sheep dogs. In mid-2006, a new discipline of dog training was being finalised following a pilot project, which will result in trained dogs being able to detect the scent of human blood and semen.
Criminal Record and Forensic Science Services Division
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Pretoria is implementing revolutionary new technology that will quadruple the laboratory’s capacity to process DNA samples. The GSPS is the only one of its kind in the world and is a robotic system that combines engineering and science, improving the police’s capacity to process DNA samples.
Since the implementation of the Integrated Ballistics Information System, more than 416 000 images have been captured on the database. Almost 5 000 hits (links between two or more cases) have been made, which implies linking of almost 10 000 different crime scenes where there was no prior knowledge/information that the same firearm(s) was/were used.
The FSL has acquired a video spectral comparator infrared apparatus to assist in differentiating between inks and documents, and detecting alterations, additions and obliterations on documents. It has also gained gas chromatograph mass spectrometers to assist in analysing drug related cases. The Craig Micro Spectrometer was obtained for colour analysis of various material such as fibres and paint samples.
Detective Services Division: This division is responsible for maintaining an effective crime-investigation service. It investigates crimes and gathers all related evidence required by the prosecuting authority to redress crime. The Detective Service consists of the following components:
- general investigations,
- organised crime,
- commercial crime, and
- serious and violent crime.
Management Services Division
This division provides a support function to the SAPS. It supports management in respect of communication and liaison services; strategic planning; information and systems management; and organisational development such as the maintenance of organisational structures, procedures, methods, forms and registers.
National Evaluation Service Division
This division supports management in the assessment of service-delivery standards and performance. It strives not only to determine the level of service delivery, but also to assist provinces, stations and units to improve their level of service delivery to the community.
Operational Response Services Division
The division is nationally responsible for maintaining public order; executing medium- and high-risk operations, including preventing rural and urban terrorism, executing search-and-rescue operations, stabilising volatile crime situations, monitoring and evaluating all major events, the international deployment of SAPS members on civilian police (CivPol) peacekeeping missions; and combating cross-border crime on South Africa’s land, sea and air borderlines.
Protection and Security Services Division
This division comprises six components, namely, VIP Protection Service, Static and Mobile Security, Operational Support, Railway Policing, Government Security Regulator and Ports of Entry Security.
The VIP Protection Service protects and secures the national and provincial executive of South Africa, comprising the President, Deputy President, former presidents, national ministers, premiers, members of provincial executive committees and any other office bearer whose safety is of national importance.
Railway Policing prevents and fights organised crime, serious and violent crime, and crimes against women and children in the rail environment.
The Government Security Regulator regulates physical security in the public sector, strategic installations, and administers the National Key Points Act, 1980.
Incident Management develops control centres and protocols for the monitoring of operations, and limits the probability and manages the impact of critical incidents within the operational sphere of Protection and Security Services.
The Security Advisory Service is responsible for evaluating all ports of entry (harbours, airports and land ports) and auditing all government departments, residences and offices of all VIPs in terms of physical security.
Ports of Entry Security is responsible for the security of all ports of entry into South Africa.
Programmes and Services
SAPS also runs a number of important programmes and services relevant to the Know Your Service Rights project. These include the following:
The Victim-Empowerment Programme
By the end of March 2006, victim-friendly facilities had been established at 583 police stations. About 387 police members were trained in victim empowerment. The SAPS aims to establish an additional 150 SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units in 2007/08. In new or upgraded police stations, provision is made for private facilities where victims can provide statements and access information.
The Safer Schools Programme
The Safer Schools Programme is a partnership between the SAPS and the Department of Education. It addresses issues such as drugs and firearms in schools, sexual offences and bullying. Its focus is on ensuring a safe learning environment. Communities are involved in this programme through school governing bodies (SGBs) and school safety committees, ensuring the national roll-out of the Tiisa Thuto Programme in co-operation with Business Against Crime (BAC). Tiisa Thuto aims to fight school community-based crime by inculcating a positive value system among the school community, heightening communities’ sense of ownership of schools, and creating conditions and/or a culture that is conducive to effective teaching, learning and support. Tiisa Thuto’s core beneficiaries are learners, educators, parents and members of SGBs.
Firearms control services
The Firearms Control Act, 2000 and the Amendment Act, 2003, aim to help SAPS in preventing the proliferation of illegal firearms and removing them from society, as well as to control legally owned firearms. People seeking firearm licences must undergo a competency test and get a competency certificate before being granted a firearm licence.
Commandos and reservists
The SAPS will put in place an alternative system to address the phasing out of the commando system to avoid a security vacuum. One of the strategies identified for doing this is to increase reservist numbers. The revised system of police reservists, among other things, consolidates SAPS’s sector-policing programme. It provides for four categories of reservists, namely Functional Policing, Support Services, Specialised Functional Policing (pilots, divers, social workers), and Rural and Urban Sector Policing.
The main aim of the revised system is to create a part-time professional police service. The system also provides for the call-up and payment of reservists, based on the identified policing needs at provincial, area or station level. The reservists will be paid only when they are called up and according to their ranks.
Career centres: To market career prospects in SAPS, career centres have been launched in various provinces, including:
- Sharpeville, Gauteng
- Bellville, Western Cape
- Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal.
Women’s Network
The SAPS Women’s Network was launched in July 2004 to assist and support women in the service. The network aims to enhance SAPS services by facilitating greater co-operation, equality and empowerment among all SAPS employees. Activities are aligned to government initiatives to improve the overall quality of life of women. The network runs at station, provincial and national levels.
Business Against Crime
Business Against Crime (BAC) was formed in 1996 at the request of former President Nelson Mandela for business to play a role in supporting government’s crime-fighting initiatives by harnessing business skills. BAC is a section 21 not-for-profit organisation mandated to support government in the fight against crime. The organisation is primarily funded by business-sector donations, and has a presence in seven provinces, with a national office in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
The BAC’s seven programmes include:
- The Criminal Justice Strengthening Programme, which is designed to build, support and strengthen the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, through the professional management of courts and court services.
- The Tiisa Thuto Programme, which seeks to teach non-violent methods of conflict-resolution and positive morality, including life skills and personal values in schools, to reduce crime and violence and improve standards of learning.
- The Support Programme for Police Stations, which aims to improve service delivery at police stations through effective management, best practices, and skills and capacity development.
- The Commercial Crime (including fraud and corruption) Programme, which established specialised commercial court centres (SCCCs) countrywide, staffed by specialists, to convict the guilty quickly and efficiently, and to secure appropriate sentences.
- The Organised Crime Programme aims to reduce large-scale syndicated crimes by removing the commercial benefit of trading in stolen goods, as well as ensuring the effective prosecution of offenders. The current focus is on vehicle theft and hijacking, and the theft of cellphones and copper cables. Business processes within the vehicle-management system are aimed at rooting out fraud and corruption and improving service delivery.
- The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has been reorganised into functional business units that have a proper management structure and accountability at all levels. The programme involves implementing financial policies and procedures for managing the department in accordance with good business practice and generally accepted accounting principles.
SAPS Complaints Procedures
Lay a complaint with the station commissioner if you feel that the investigating officer is not assisting you properly.
If you are still unhappy, you can approach the area commissioner, the provincial commissioner or the MEC for Safety and Security in your province.
Service evaluation telephone number: 0860 13 0860. Bring poor police service under our attention for investigation.
Contact Details
- Emergency Call: 10111
- Crime Stop: 0860 10 111
- Stop Women Abuse Hotline: 0800 150 150
- Police Social Work Services (24 hour no.): 082 301 2138
- Police Spiritual Services (24 hour no.): 082 778 5677
- SAPS Employee Assistant Programme: 0860 103055