Justice Dennis Davis said on Monday that the absence of forensic skills among members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) impairs crime prevention in the country.

He pointed out that Police Minister Bheki Cele previously stated that many South Africans join the police owing to unemployment and not because they want to serve the country. 

Davis was speaking during a University of Free State webinar with the theme “Crime in South Africa- who is to blame?”, where he pointed out that incompetent skills in the police force, relating to fingerprints and the collection of evidence, were detrimental to successful convictions.

He said the solution to the problem was an extreme overhaul of the entire police service.

He also spoke of the high levels of corruption in the police force, which he said was adding to crime.

NATIONAL PROSECUTING AUTHORITY

He did not shy away from stating that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was gutted under Shaun Abrahams.

He questioned whether those implicated in the State Capture report, released by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, will be successfully prosecuted.

He added that without massive supplementation from the private bar and various other forensic accountant facilities he did not feel confident about the prospects.  

“The NPA is an organisation which was so degraded under the Jacob Zuma era that it is going to take an enormous effort in order to resurrect it to the extent that it should be. I am deeply despondent in that regard. I should add that there are some extremely talented prosecutors and very dedicated people within the NPA, let me not be misunderstood.

“ The problem is that when you spend in deliberate terms to ensure that this is an organisation that doesn’t work, coupled with the inability of the police to do their job properly, that itself is an extraordinary problem,” Davis said.

He added that court hearings should fast-track cases, as there are currently unnecessary delays.

NATIONAL SECURITY

He pointed out that if the country had “proper national security”, it is possible that the 2021 July riots would not have occurred.

He said government would have also been aware of what was going on and many convictions would have already occurred.

“Just as with the NPA and the police, we are now reaping the consequences of State capture. That is a massive difficulty,” he added.

He also said the effects of 300 years of violence, racism, sexism and apartheid cannot be forgotten.

“There are a series of psychological issues and political reasons that we need to face head on in relation to what the consequences of apartheid were,” he said.

He stressed that the country would not win in the fight against crime when people still lived under degraded conditions and when people were failed by the State.