SAPS Station With 400 Cases Per Detective, and 700 Unresolved Murder Investigations

Statement by Mzamo Billy MP – DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice:

An oversight visit conducted by the Democratic Alliance (DA) at Plessislaer SAPS in Pietermaritzburg has found a shocking case burden on detectives – each detective is carrying between 300 and 400 case dockets.

More than 700 murder cases remain under investigation, and are unresolved, at one single SAPS station.

This is yet another SAPS station suffering critical staff shortages: The station operates with only 307 personnel despite an approved establishment of 375, leaving 68 vacant posts. Several critical positions, including detectives and senior officers, have reportedly remained vacant since 2022.

Plessislaer is representative of a policing system under severe strain left to fend for itself by the failures of successive ANC Police Ministers.

The oversight further revealed:

– Serious forensic backlogs: Post-mortem reports, ballistic testing, and forensic results are taking between four and seven months to be completed, delaying investigations and undermining the delivery of justice.

– More than 100 post-mortem records linked to criminal investigations were destroyed during industrial action affecting Department of Health facilities in 2021, part of over 500 records that were destroyed across the Pietermaritzburg district at that time. Many of these records cannot be reconstructed, potentially affecting murder investigations and criminal prosecutions.

– A recent escape from the police holding cells, with a police officer subsequently arrested in connection with the incident.

These findings point to deep systemic failures within policing and the criminal justice system in KwaZulu-Natal. While SAPS members continue working under extremely difficult conditions, it is clear that urgent intervention is needed to strengthen detective services, fill critical vacancies, address forensic backlogs, and modernise policing resources.

The DA will escalate these findings to the Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, and the Acting Police Minister, Firoz Cachalia, and pursue accountability through Parliament.

South Africans deserve a criminal justice system that is properly resourced, functional, and capable of delivering justice without delay.