The Democratic Alliance (DA) has lamented the chilling statistics on rape released by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) on Wednesday.

According to the 2023/2024 Annual Report by the police watchdog, there were a total of 110 rape incidents by police officers nationally, down from cases 122 incidents in the 2022/23 year.

The report further indicates that the bulk of the cases come from KZN with 26 cases, Gauteng with a total of 20 documented cases. In Gauteng, six of these were committed while on duty, while 14 accounted for off-duty incidents of rape.

The Eastern Cape recorded 18 cases by police officials, while the Western Cape recorded only 19 rape cases, followed by the Northern Cape with 14 cases.

Furthermore, the report reveals that the province that has the highest number of overall rape cases is Gauteng, which reported 897 cases of rape, followed by the Western Cape with 888 cases.

These numbers come just days after South Africans reacted with shock to video footage showing two female police officers from the Heidedal police station, Free State, assaulting a woman believed to be a complainant in a domestic violence case.

While this was happening, another video footage recorded police officers accepting bribe money from an alleged car thief, who went undercover to expose the police who had come to collect money from him.

Reacting to the shocking statistics, DA’s shadow MEC for police in Gauteng, Crezane Bosch, lamented the lack of safety the residents of the province are living under.

“The safety of Gauteng residents is increasingly at risk, as a recent report reveals disturbingly high instances of 20 rapes and 37 corruption cases that implicate police officers themselves.”

The report further reveals the total number of corruption cases reported against members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Metro Police Service (MPS) per province.

It is reported that there were 79 corruption cases that were reported nationally, with Gauteng having the highest count at 37 cases. Out of these cases, 33 involved SAPS, and four involved metro police officials.

“Consequently, Gauteng accounts for 47% of corruption cases reported nationally. These figures paint a bleak picture for the people of Gauteng who feel betrayed by those sworn to protect them. Surely, they cannot trust our police officers when they are implicated in such serious crimes,” Bosch lamented.

She further asserted that the existence of criminal elements in the country’s law enforcement, and criminals, underscores the decline in community safety across the province.

Crime activist, Yusuf Abramjee, in his reaction to the IPID report, suggested that there has to be more efforts being made on the part of the force’s Human Resources departments, adding that IPID processes are also too slow to respond to the ongoing crisis.

“The levels of criminality with the SAPS are cause for serious concern. It’s scary. The Anti Corruption Unit in the police is under-resourced, and they need to be beefed up and start acting with speed.

“IPID also needs to move faster. The law must come down hard on criminality and this includes criminal cops. We see many cops being arrested and charged and they continue to work. HR processes are too slow in the police,” he said.

Reacting to the Free State incident, Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, slammed the two female police officers accused of assaulting a fellow female.

“The IPID has already made progress in this investigation into the matter. Additionally, an internal investigation within the SAPS is under way to ascertain the veracity of these allegations and ensure that appropriate action is taken against those involved... The behaviour displayed by these officers in the video is highly unacceptable and completely contrary to the core values of the SAPS,“ he stated.

On the IPID report, the minister welcomed some interventions by the watchdog, indicating that the war against GBV, while still a concern, is receiving attention.

“IPID has made significant progress on its legislative priorities with the amendment of the IPID Act that was assented to by the president on 30 July 2024. We should also applaud the working team under the guidance of the Civilian Secretariat for the police service,’’ the minister commented.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za