The chairperson of Parliament’s police portfolio committee, Ian Cameron, has raised concerns about the SAPS' DNA backlog.
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The chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron said he has received information about the South African Police Service (SAPS) Forensic Science Laboratory division facing another crisis, with the DNA backlog exceeding 140,000 cases.
Cameron said this crisis has escalated, despite the concerted efforts made by the 6th Parliament committee and assurances that the situation was improving and that the backlog would be erased.
He said this crisis is a direct threat to an effective criminal justice system that is able to process and prosecute criminals and efforts to combat gender-based violence (GBV).
“It is inconceivable that despite various interactions and interventions, as well as reprioritisation of funding to resolve the backlog and ensure scientific-based prosecution of cases, the backlog remains stubbornly high, which will lead to the removal of cases from the court roll. Those in positions of authority must be held accountable for this mess, as it represents a clear case of dereliction of duty,” Cameron said.
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He also expressed concern that service contracts for forensic equipment have expired, meaning vital instruments are unusable and unmaintained.
Cameron said the SAPS management has ignored repeated recommendations to partner with institutions of higher learning that have forensic capabilities, thus showing complete disregard for the crisis and unwillingness to adopt corrective measures.
“In 2021, amid the worst backlog crisis within the division, SAPS management stood in front of everyone and made commitments that they have now seemingly disregarded. It is unacceptable that measures that were promised to ensure that the National Forensic Science Laboratories are productive were seemingly just management playing lip service to the challenge. People must be held accountable,” Cameron said.
He said the revelation of the backlog, longstanding challenges with accommodation for laboratories, the low number of police officers trained to take buccal samples, and inability to manage contracts to ensure that they are renewed timeously all contribute to this perpetual problem.
As a result, Cameron will be requesting the Officer of the Auditor-General to conduct a full forensic audit into the SAPS’ DNA processing and forensic laboratories and contract management within the division.
He said it was clear that the public deserves transparency on where the failures are occurring, who is responsible, and what must be done for it to be fixed.
“It is the committee’s long-held view that the SAPS Forensic Laboratory Services must be urgently stabilised and restructured, to ensure effective prosecution. Furthermore, SAPS management must be held accountable for this perpetual crisis, or we risk further eroding trust in our criminal justice system,” Cameron said.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
IOL
