DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT IMPLEMENTATION REPORT 3 & 4 (MARCH 2013 – MARCH 2014) :

1. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT IMPLEMENTATION REPORT 3 & 4 (MARCH 2013 – MARCH 2014): PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE FOR POLICE – 10 SEPTEMBER 2014

2. INTRODUCTION • The Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998 (DVA) was promulgated in 1999 in an attempt to provide victims with an accessible legal tool to stop domestic abuse. • In terms of this Act, SAPS are compelled to comply with the provisions of the DVA and the National Instructions, and any failure to do so constitutes misconduct which must be reported to the Civilian Secretariat for Police (CSP). This mandate previously resided with the former Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) according to Sec 18 (4 {a},{ b} and 5 {c}) of the DVA. This has since been repealed in terms of S35 of the IPID Act and the functions are currently carried out by the CSP.

3. INTRODUCTION • In terms of the DVA specific duties are prescribed to SAPS and other state departments. Amongst the obligations imposed by the DVA on the SAPS are the following: • Development of National Instructions – which should serve as a guide to embers on how to effective respond to incidents of domestic violence • Providing assistance to the complainants through among other things – assistance to get medical attention, referral to other service providers for psycho-social service and others • Ensuring compliance with all the requirements of the DVA. • Reporting any complaints of non-compliance against the SAPS members to the Civilian Secretariat for Police (CSP), as amended in terms of the IPID Act (No.1 0f 2011).

4. INTRODUCTION The CSP is further mandated by the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service Act (No. 2 of 2011) to monitor and evaluate the SAPS’ compliance with the DVA. This is done through station audits and engagements with civil society organisations at both National and Provincial level. A total of 280 audits were conducted during the period 01 April 2013 to 31 March 2014. The purpose of these audits was to check how the police stations were complying with the DVA and National Instruction 7/1999.

5. INTRODUCTION • The visits were also aimed at identifying challenges with implementation of the DVA by police stations and to equip the police stations with information on how compliance and implementation can be improved focusing on the following areas; • Regulatory compliance • Record keeping • Services offered to complainants and • Management of non-compliance complaints • In essence, the scope of the audits focused on looking at both regulatory compliance and execution of the DVA by police station.

6. LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE In determining the actual level of compliance indicators for key focus areas, mainly based on regulatory compliance, are coded and interpreted into a score out of 100. The compliance levels are distributed in three levels, i.e. Full compliance which is equivalent to 100%, Partial compliance which is equivalent to 60 -99% and Non-compliance which refers to any station performing below 60%. In principle , when it comes to DVA implementation, there should be no room for error and all station should be complying at 100%

7. LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE It should be noted that the level of compliance is assessed based mainly on administrative obligations. A station that has a high level of compliance does not necessarily mean that it is providing a good service to the community or the station with a low level of compliance is providing a bad service. With this view in mind, the CSP is monitoring the SAPS’ ability to deliver on its administrative obligation as the first level to oversight and the second level includes random sampling of clients in order to assess the level of satisfaction with services provided by the stations. The assumption is that, if the station is able to fully comply with the administrative obligations, the service offered to the community will be of good quality.

8. AVERAGE LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE PER PROVINCE: APRIL – SEPTEMBER 2013

9. AVERAGE LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE PER PROVINCEOCTOBER 2013 –MARCH 2014

10. AVERAGE LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE PER PROVINCE Looking at the figures for the two reporting periods, there is a slight improvement in the compliance level. This can be attributed to the fact that presentation of reports is done at Cluster Level by the various Provinces which means stations are able to learn form others. It is however still concerning that during April – September 2013 period, there was not a single station that achieved a 100% compliance. During the second reporting period, only two stations have achieved 100% in terms of regulatory compliance and both stations are in the Free State province namely Kroonstad and Zamdela.

11. AVERAGE LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE PER PROVINCE • The table below reflects the various levels of compliance and SAPS performance on each level during comparing the two reporting periods

12. AVAILABILITY OF VICTIM FRIENDLY ROOMS:APRIL – SEPTEMBER 2013 • Out of the 135 police stations visited during this period, 94 had a functional Victim Friendly Room. • 16 police stations had the VFR but it was not being utilised for its intended purpose, and it is therefore described as not functional. • 25 police stations did not have a VFR, and mainly because of lack of space in the station. • There is still a challenge with management and resourcing of the VFR. Some rooms could not be accessed as the keys could not be located

13. AVAILABILITY OF VICTIM FRIENDLY ROOMS:APRIL – SEPTEMBER 2013 Most stations that were visited did not have the designated VEP Coordinator as per National Instruction 02 of 2012. this contributes to challenges with regard to management of the VFR

14. AVAILABILITY OF VICTIM FRIENDLY ROOMS OCTOBER 2013 – MARCH 201 63% of the stations visited the Victim Friendly Rooms (as indicated below) however in some stations these structures are not used for their intended purpose and this impact on the provision of a victim friendly service for victims of domestic violence and sexual offences.

15. NON-COMPLIANCE COMPLAINTS: APRIL – SEPTEMBER 2013 The chart below indicates the number of non-compliance cases that were reported against SAPS members and the disciplinary proceedings instituted during this period

16. NON-COMPLIANCE COMPLAINTS: OCTOBER 2013 – MARCH 2014 The chart below indicates the number of non-compliance cases that were reported against SAPS members and the disciplinary proceedings instituted

17. NON-COMPLIANCE COMPLAINTS: OCTOBER 2013 – MARCH 2014

18. NON-COMPLIANCE COMPLAINTS Western Cape has highest number of reported cases of non-compliance during the period under review and all the cases reported disciplinary action against members have been instituted. The main reason for such high numbers in the Western Cape is that all non-compliance matters identified during station audits are recorded and recommendations to institute disciplinary against all members who have been found to have not fully complied.

19. DVA INCIDENTS REPORTED AGAINST MEMBERS: APRIL – SEPTEMBER 2013 • Out of the 135 stations visited, 37 stations in eight provinces reported that 59 domestic violence cases have been reported against SAPS members. • Out of the 59 reported incidents: • 28 firearms have been seized • 30 criminal cases were opened, • 16 cases were withdrawn by complainant. • The table below indicates the breakdown of the reported incidents

20. DVA INCIDENTS REPORTED AGAINST MEMBERS: APRIL – SEPTEMBER 2013

21. DVA INCIDENTS REPORTED AGAINST MEMBERS: OCTOBER 2013 – MARCH 2014 • Out of all the 145 police stations visited, 74 members were found to have been offenders in domestic violence incidents. • Out of these reported incidents 40 criminal cases were opened by complainants. • The graph below reflects the number of criminal cases per province.

22. DVA INCIDENTS REPORTED AGAINST MEMBERS OCTOBER 2013 – MARCH 2014

23. DVA INCIDENTS REPORTED AGAINST MEMBERS OCTOBER 2013 – MARCH 2014 Even though in majority of the incidents especially where criminal cases have been opened, firearms were seized, it is still concerning to note that there are some stations who did not seize firearms despite a criminal case being opened.

24. TRAINING The number of members trained on key legislation that responds to domestic violence keeps improving and it should be noted that all members that are joining SAPS are being trained on DVA as part of basic training. It has been noted that the content of the DVA training programme is quite comprehensive but the training still does not translate into improved implementation at station level. It is encouraging to note that the SAPS will be engaging in the impact assessment of training during this financial year (2014/15), it is anticipated that the process will assist in identifying the actual gaps with training.

25. TRAINING: OCTOBER 2013 – MARCH 2014 • The table below shows the number of members trained in all the 145 stations visited.

26. STRENGTHENING OVERSIGHT AND SAPS IMPLEMENTATION OF DVA • Emanating from the discussions was a number of valuable recommendations that can be summed up in the following categories: • Recommendation directed at the police service on how interaction with communities can be improved • Recommendations on partnerships, integration and cross- cutting approaches amongst the various government departments, SAPS included. • Recommendations on how the CSO can enhance their role and existence • Recommendations on the role of communities at large.

27. STRENGTHENING OVERSIGHT AND SAPS IMPLEMENTATION OF DVA • The CSP in partnership the SAPS and the Joint Gender Fund (a CSO) hosted a government – civil society dialogue on 22 – 23 August 2013 in Johannesburg. • The purpose of the dialogue was to bring together role-players who work closely with the SAPS in order to strengthen working relationships on how to respond to and prevent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). • Whilst it is acknowledged that there are many aspects to responding and preventing violence, the specific focus of this initiative was on improving police responses in relation to VAWG.

28. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY SAPS

29. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY SAPS

30. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY SAPS

31. GENERAL CHALLENGES • It is still a challenge to ascertain the actual level of domestic violence in the country; however, research done by local researchers indicates a high prevalence of acts of violence against women and children. • One of the main challenges that make it difficult to measure the extent of domestic violence in the country is that, unlike with other crime categories, domestic violence is not recorded as such in the official crime statistics.

32. GENERAL CHALLENGES • Instead of being codified as a separate criminal offence, domestic violence in South Africa is recorded as one or more of the following crime categories: • Assault • Assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm • Attempted murder • Murder • Rape • Malicious damage to property • Pointing firearm

33. GENERAL CHALLENGES • According to the study by Artz, the other issues that contribute to the difficulty of ascertaining the prevalence of domestic violence are that; • Domestic violence goes largely unreported to police; • There is a tendency on the part of police to refer domestic violence cases directly to the Magistrate’s court where victims can apply for the protection order; • There is generally poor and inconsistent recording of domestic violence cases by the police.

34. GENERAL CHALLENGES Ever since the CSP took over the DVA monitoring role, there has been a significant drop in the number of non-compliance complaints against SAPS. This is not necessarily because the SAPS is fully complying but can be attributed to the fact that communities are not aware of who to report to since the ICD is no longer in existence.

35. GENERAL CHALLENGES • Taking into consideration all the issues noted above, it becomes evident that the nature and extent of domestic violence in our country is much bigger than what is recorded. • It is therefore of paramount importance that there are effective and efficient systems and process in place to address the matter in a manner that will give it the attention it deserves.

36. GENERAL CHALLENGES • It is highly crucial that the CSP together with the SAPS and Civil Society Organisations engage in processes that are aimed at empowering the victims of domestic violence and other gender based violence crimes to report these incidents. • On the same tone the SAPS needs to strengthen its ability to respond to these incidents and this will help in increasing the confidence of the communities to report more.

37. RECOMMENDATIONS • The management of SAPS should strictly hold members accountable for poor compliance and failure to adhere to the duties as prescribed by the DVA. Taking action against members, especially those who continuously fail to comply can serve as a deterrent to other SAPS members. • Station Commanders need to ensure that members within their command and control are continuously trained and internal information sessions on DVA form part of ‘standing agenda items’ in station lectures

38. RECOMMENDATIONS • The high numbers of SAPS members that are offenders of domestic violence is a serious concern. All members that are perpetrators should be compelled to undergo the EHW programme concurrently with the disciplinary processes. • Reporting of non-compliance between the SAPS and the CSP needs to be strengthened. In order to facilitate this process, Standard Operating Procedures have been developed and an extensive consultation process by both the SAPS and the CSP was done. These procedures have been finalised and are awaiting authorisation by SAPS management.

39. RECOMMENDATIONS • Joint awareness-raising campaigns need to be conducted by the SAPS, SAPS, CPF and Civil Society Organisations at local level in order to educate communities about their rights and encourage reporting. • The only way domestic violence can be eradicated is through multi stakeholder collaborations in response to incidents reported.

40. THANK YOU