The Democratic Alliance (DA) is today presenting a five point plan to fix our Forensic Science and Chemistry Laboratories.

The police's Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) and the Department of Health's Forensic Chemistry Laboratories (FCL) play a critical role in the prosecution and conviction of criminals. However, if these laboratories are not functioning optimally, court cases depending on forensic evidence can be delayed, lost or dropped.

This is precisely what is happening in South Africa. Over the last four years, court case backlogs have steadily risen - driven in large part by backlogs in our forensic laboratories. Our Forensic Laboratories are now, in fact, in a state of crisis - they serve as one of the most severe bottlenecks in the entire criminal justice system, with the number of backlogged samples having increased by more than 300% since 2007.

The Forensic Labs in South Africa face various problems which hinder their ability to function optimally, including:

• Increasing backlogs: Information from parliamentary questions reveals a steady upward trend in the number of cases clogging up the system. The total number of backlogged entries at the FSLs increased by 330% between June 2007 and June 2009 - from 6068 to 26 112. Chemistry sample backlogs were up 80.4% last year and the backlog at Scientific Analysis increased by 526%.

• High vacancy rates: In 2005, there were 916 employees in the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL); the optimal number of employees stood at 1460. Thus there existed a 63% disparity (or 544 staff members) between the actual and optimal number. Of the 1460 posts, only 981 had been budgeted for by mid 2007 and only 966 of these had been filled. There remains a similar staff rate deficiency to this day.

• Largely unsuccessful staff retention policies: SAPS Forensic Science Lab staff are hired and placed according to rank. This means that recruited staff are paid according to the police rank that they fit into and not according to their experience levels. For example, analyst posts are advertised as ‘Sergeant' ranks and as a result, few applications by suitably qualified persons are received because of the low rank and salary levels. A Sergeant typically earns between R94 000 and R140 000 per annum in the SAPS. The "scarce skills programme" has also not had the desired outcomes.

• Lack of trained staff and expensive training: An Auditor General's Report on the performance of the Forensic Chemistry Laboratories (FCLs) found that, "A newly recruited toxicology analyst requires at least two years of internal training due to the lack of formal chemistry/ toxicology training at local tertiary institutions". The education system does not provide for forensic courses that enable students to be immediately recruited and instead, new recruits require several years of internal training at great cost which can range from R175 000 to R500 000 depending on the discipline.

• Housing and maintenance problems: The Department of Public Works is responsible for housing the labs in appropriate buildings. Many of the labs are not suitably housed, which has impacted on the labs ability to get accreditation. There are also serious issues surrounding maintenance and proper IT equipment and installation.

To address these problems, the Democratic Alliance is proposing a five point plan to fix our Forensic Laboratories:

1. Private-Public Partnerships

We propose to remove both the Forensic Science Laboratory from the SAPS and the Forensic Chemistry Laboratories from the Department of Health, and to merge them into a Forensic Laboratory Service which would operate as a private-public partnership. The Forensic Laboratory Service would be independent from SAPS and Health, and would be legally bound by strict operating conditions and service delivery targets. All laboratories would need to be accredited in order to be operational and all forensic analysts would need to be registered with Council for Natural Sciences.

This entity would work with the SAPS, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Independent Complaints Directorate; have its own operational budget; be able to determine its own policies and goals in line with the broader crime fighting and detecting strategies of the SAPS; exercise control over the performance of the functions and functioning of the labs; be responsible for its own staffing policy and Human Resources Management, including hiring and firing. Recruits would be based on merit and the entity would have a mandate to train previously disadvantaged individuals; be responsible for its own maintenance, housing, equipment tenders and equipment installation; be associated with a University to ensure the interchange of new ideas and technology.

2. Building more labs

Although the SAPS are in the process of building one new laboratory, we believe at least one major provincial laboratory is needed in each province, which would cater for all of the major categories of forensic analyses.

3. Focussing on expertise and training

Partnership with South Africa's universities and technikons is needed to create post-graduate forensic science degrees and courses tailored to the specific needs of the Forensic Labs. This would allow graduates to start work immediately in some forensic fields and competencies at the country's labs, or at least reduce the length of time required for in-house training. This would lighten the economic burden and time constraints on new staff recruits. The government, via SAPS should offer bursaries, which would require graduated bursars to work at the labs for 3 years after graduation. This would assist with staff retention as well as encourage more students to study forensic science as they will have the monetary assistance for the courses and job safety guaranteed for 3 years.

4. Eradicating vacancies, bolstering human resource management and staff retention policies

All Forensic Lab vacancies need to be filled as a matter of urgency. Qualified and experienced people must be recruited without delay, using all possible avenues. If Forensics can be made a worthwhile career that is adequately rewarded, posts will be filled easier. In order to retain staff, there needs to be a focus on improved working conditions, performance incentives, better salaries, ongoing training and career pathing.

5. Ensuring proper training and responsibility

SAPS Scene of Crime officers, responsible for the collection of exhibits at crime scenes must be adequately trained in evidence collection techniques and strict adherence to crime scene evidence protocol must be enforced. Furthermore, these officers must be fully equipped with the requisite tools in order to correctly collect exhibits. Those SAPS members that submit incorrectly collected or stored exhibits must be held responsible with harsh consequences, so that accountability and correct collection methodology can be ensured.