DETECTIVES and other high-ranking officers were “being driven out” of the SAPS while those remaining in the policing sector were faced with “untenable workloads” with more than 400 case dockets each per month.
When the former head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Johan Booysen, 67, joined the SAPS at the age of 19, he said he “felt it was a calling, unlike nowadays where for some it is just a job”.
He left the SAPS six months before his 60th birthday and the day after he left, he started his new job as national head of investigations at the Fidelity Security Group.
In 2021, four years after he left the SAPS, he was awarded the Stella Officii Egregii Gold medal by then Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, for outstanding work of meritorious nature.
Booysen, who was the head of the Hawks from 2010 to 2017, said “good cops were marginalised and ostracised,” which led to them leaving in droves.
He said there were attempts from corrupt officials to drive him out of his position, and claimed that corruption in various spheres of the criminal justice system led him to eventually retire.
“A brutal campaign of lies and misinformation began against me. It was related to the Cato Manor unit, which formed part of the Durban Organised Crime Unit and started at Cato Manor in 2001. At the time they were the best-performing unit in the country. But they were ultimately disbanded in 2011 after a story was planted in a mainstream newspaper by rogue elements in the SAPS Crime Intelligence Unit and other corrupt elements within SAPS.
“They alleged that the Cato Manor unit was a death squad. That story was debunked after the newspaper withdrew the story and apologised. But this told me the depth of the corruption and how I was going to be a constant target.
Corruption
“The ‘Cato Manor Death Squad’ turned out to be a strategy by certain elements in SAPS linked with corruption that eventually led to me leaving,” he said.
He alleged at the time that the corruption involved prosecutors and senior police officials, as well as political links, which continued to be a problem today.
“Good cops are, more often than not, both marginalised and ostracised, especially if their colleagues were corrupt or involved with criminal elements. Some have to watch their backs. They are not giving it their all to solve cases as they are afraid that they will be killed,” he said.
He attributed his successful career to always ensuring he recruited the best detectives to work under his command.
“They were the ones that must get the credit. One of the major challenges I encountered, and it has become exponentially worse lately, was rampant corruption within the police. Lately corruption is also rearing its ugly head within the National Prosecuting Authority as well as with certain magistrates. This is a grave cause for concern.
“Another problem is the present promotion policy. There is too much nepotism and cronyism, culminating in incompetent managers in critical posts, which in turn further compromises effective and efficient policing.
“The present shortage of detectives nationally is 8 500.
“The detective component has been neglected for the past two decades, in terms of resource allocation and skills development,” he said.
No incentives for officers to apply to join the detective branches, not getting proper allowances and bigger workloads, Booysen said, was demotivating officers.
Untenable workloads
“The shortage of detectives has a compounding negative effect on the morale of detectives and ultimately service delivery. Their workload is untenable. At certain stations, up to five or six detectives have to share a car. Because of the shortage of detectives, there are fewer opportunities for upward mobility in terms of promotion. The detectives become despondent.
“The crime in the country has seen a huge expansion of private security companies. These companies headhunt detectives and offer them better remuneration and benefits. When these detectives leave, they take decades of institutional knowledge with them,” he added.
Booysen said Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s primary focus should be to restore discipline and prioritise upskilling the detective component, including providing special allowances.
“He needs to root out corruption and revisit the promotion policy to turn things around. I would propose a national workshop. Invite experts and previous senior officers and formulate a turnaround plan for the systemic problems in SAPS, which would ultimately lead to better policing and a reduction in crime,” he added.
Disgruntled
A former station commander from the south Durban area, who declined to be named, said he was a police officer for 25 years and stayed a Lieutenant-Colonel for 21 years, without being promoted.
“I was a station commander for 10 years and had a degree but there was no recognition for it.
“Civilian staff were getting promotions and police rankings and I was helpless when hard-working officers would not get selected for the promotions.
“I went for over 20 interviews all over the country for a promotion, but I was never chosen. Operational officers were being overlooked at the expense of people who were former clerks in the police,” he added.
He said at the station he served as commander, an officer was in the same rank for 24 years without a promotion. Another officer, who served two roles at that station, remained a warrant officer for over 27 years, while others who had joined long after him were promoted.
“Poor salaries and lack of promotion are a serious problem. The private sector is more lucrative for police officers. Another problem was that people were paying for ranks and posts. This led to unqualified managers leading the charge.”
He said nepotism was rife at both station level and in high-ranking positions.
“Mchunu also needs to look at extending the retirement age for officers. I was 60 when I retired, but I could have served another five years. I live in the community I served so I am still actively involved in the fight against crime, as I work closely with the community policing forums,” he added.
Shoe factory
A police source, who serves as an acting detective branch commander, said the SAPS was operating like a “shoe factory”.
“There is no time to breathe. Small stations are sitting with about 60 dockets for each detective and at larger stations each office deals with about 400 new case dockets a month.
“There is no time to do our jobs. We also do not have reliable vehicles. Detectives are expected to wear a suit and tie or formal clothes, and then chase after suspects.
“There are policemen and women who work in the charge office who get paid more than detectives. We are expected to be on standby duty and work for free. There is no overtime or allowances,” he added.
He said the current challenges by detectives was contributing to the high rate of cases closing.
“There is no money for us to travel to other provinces or outlying areas to follow up on information or cases. The SAPS is slowly collapsing. We all want to throw in the towel, but some are holding on because of their passion to fight crime and others for financial reasons. We hope they fix the problems soon or crime will continue to spiral,” he said.
The POST