Parliament and Society of Action demand an urgent liability in the middle of the DNA delay crisis

The Police Portfolio Committee and the Civil Rights Organization The South African Police Company (SAPS) has strongly sentenced the public on the severity of the DNA delay crisis. Despite the previous insurance that the delay was approached, was again bloated at over 140,000 cases, exposing systemic failures within the SAPS Criminal Science Division (FSL).

The company of action has accused SAPS of reducing the extent of the crisis in the last two years, creating a violation of human rights that violate the constitutional rights of South -Africans to equality, equitable administrative actions and access to the courts. The organization has asked the South Africa-general auditor to investigate the delays and has continued to enter SAPS to enter public-private partnerships with private forensic laboratories and universities to accelerate DNA testing and analysis.

“DNA evidence is one of the strongest tools in combating crime, however, despite the repeated promises of the Government, especially in terms of gender -based violence (GBV), SAPS failed to take decisive measures.

The DNA delay crisis is not new. In 2020, forensic test stopped when the police minister, Bheki, failed to ensure the payment of the PCEM system, causing the system to close and creating an initial delay of over 125,000 cases, of which 92% were related to sexual assault kits. In April 2021, Action Society revealed that the delay escalated to 241,152 cases. Until July 2021, the delay exceeded 300,000 cases, causing the shareholding company to file a complaint with the public protector.

“It is inconceivable that, despite the different interactions and interventions, as well as the reprioritization of the financing to solve the delay and to ensure the scientific tracking of the cases, the delay was stubborn.

The Office of the Public Protector (OPP) took two years to respond to the complaint of the Action Company against those, President Cyril Ramaphosa, SAPS, State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and FSL. His 2023 report found that defective financial management, including sub-budget, under expenses and non-observance of supplier contracts, was a key delay engine. In addition, the report emphasized that the SAPS centralized procurement system created inefficiencies, and the forensic laboratories were equipped inappropriately, with weak models and insufficient storage capacity that continues to prevent work flows.

Despite the multiple commitments to the Parliament, SAPS failed to renew the critical service contracts for the medical -legal equipment, which led to unusable machines and a delay in aggravation. Moreover, the SAPS management ignored the recommendations of collaboration with universities that have medical -legal capacities, demonstrating a continuous disregard for practical solutions. The wrong management of the medical -legal services has seriously compromised the justice system, delays or directly preventing criminal prosecution.

“In 2021, in the middle of the worst delay crisis within the division, Saps Management was in front of everyone and made commitments they have now ignored.

In response, Cameron has announced that it will officially request the general auditor’s office to carry out a complete forensic audit of the SAPS DNA processing, criminal laboratory operations and contract management. “It is clear that the public deserves transparency if the failures happen, who is responsible and what to do to remedy it.”

The Police Portfolio Committee and the Action Company insist that SAPS Criminal Laboratory Services should be restructured and stabilized to ensure that DNA evidence can be processed effectively. “If SAPS management is not held liable for this continuous failure, trust in the South African criminal justice system will continue to deteriorate,” Cameron warned.

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