Final arrangements for the transition of the Scorpions crime fighting unit into the Hawks have been made, the Police Ministry said on Tuesday.

"All transitional arrangements, including audits of cases the Scorpions had been dealing with, as well as the unit's assets and liabilities, have been finalised," spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi said in a statement.

Recruitment had been completed.

"What is outstanding, is the process of vetting all the staff, with a huge number of almost 800 people who are going to be employed."

He said the organisational structure of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) was being finalised.

"It is envisaged that the functions of the South African Police Service's (SAPS) Organised Crime Unit, Commercial Crime Unit and the High Technology Project Centre will also be transferred to the DPCI."

Former Directorate of Special Operations (DSO) investigators and detectives from the three SAPS units mentioned above were serving as interim DPCI staff.

They had also all been invited to apply for permanent DPCI positions.

Mulaudzi said former Directorate of Special Operations head office staff and special investigators from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal had started relocating to SAPS premises.

The police had also taken over the former DSO offices in Pretoria.

"The migration from the DSO to the SAPS will not prejudice existing cases," said Mulaudzi.

On Monday - following media reports indicating that police admitted the unit's only member was its head, Anwa Dramat - police said there was no confusion over the structure and composition of the Hawks.

Dramat's spokesperson senior superintendent Vishnu Naidoo said at the time that 218 ex-Scorpions had been placed within the SAPS - 51 to organised crime, 61 to commercial crime and 106 to crime intelligence.

The launch of the Hawks marked the end of years of hostility from some quarters towards the Scorpions.

The ruling African National Congress adopted a resolution in
2007 to create the new unit within the police, moving it out of the justice department.

Two laws, the South African Police Service Amendment Act and the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Act, had been passed in Parliament to allow its creation.

According to the new laws, the new unit became operational last Monday.