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On Tuesday this week I will present the Democratic Alliance's proposals to empower and strengthen the Police watchdog, the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), to the Committee on Private Members' Legislative Proposals. [A copy of our legislative proposal <http://www.mailfire.co.za/link/QlJVTj0xMDk5NiZMSUQ9MzI1MTcmU0lEPTEwMTk1MzY=.aspx> is available for download, as is our statement <http://www.mailfire.co.za/link/QlJVTj0xMDk5NiZMSUQ9MzI1MTgmU0lEPTEwMTk1MzY=.aspx> that was issued in mid-June on this matter.] At present, the ICD is charged with overseeing the Police and investigating complaints, but all too often its recommendations are falling on deaf ears. What the DA's proposals seek to do is place within the South African Police Service Act a set of provisions that would make it mandatory for the Police to act on the recommendations of ICD investigations. If the SAPS deem those recommendations to be unreasonable, the onus falls on it to explain in writing why they have failed to act. And, because the provisions require that explanation to be available for public scrutiny, it ought to act as a useful means of ensuring that the Police Service is held publicly accountable for any future failure to prosecute errant police officials. This in turn ought to create impetus for far greater action on ICD recommendations. As things stand, and according to the latest information, four in ten of the ICD's recommendations are not acted upon by the SAPS. This is a staggeringly high figure, given that the resource-deprived ICD tends to focus most of its efforts on major incidents of alleged abuse or misconduct. In other words, where the ICD makes a recommendation, there is rarely a good reason not to act upon it. Because ICD recommendations are ignored, the situation occurs where SAPS members are not held to account for their actions. For example, Mountain Rise police station in KwaZulu-Natal was recently in the media for crooking crime statistics. The ICD investigated and found unregistered dockets stashed away in a room. The ICD recommended that the Station Commissioner be removed. But, regardless of this recommendation, he remains on duty. A great deal has been said about empowering the ICD, but little has been done. The Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa, has said publicly that police oversight needs to be strengthened and that the ICD needs ‘teeth'. That's what we hope this proposal may help to achieve.