Western Cape police face staffing crisis as detectives struggle with heavy caseloads

Western Cape detectives are drowning in hundreds of cases each, leading to a significant crisis within the South African Police Service (SAPS).

This alarming situation was highlighted by Benedicta van Minnen, MPP and DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Police Oversight and Community Safety.

She stated that the DA is holding the National Police Commissioner, Fannie Maseloma, and Police Minister, Professor Firoz Cachalia, accountable for the systemic failures within the police force. The DA has cited the devastating and systemic collapse of SAPS's detective units, detailing that the public is being denied justice due to these failures.

Minnen expressed her concerns, stating that detectives are being set up to fail, buried under impossible caseloads that make effective investigations a distant dream.

This was revealed in a parliamentary reply from SAPS.

According to the SAPS, the benchmark number of cases per detective is a maximum of 60; however, the average caseloads across the province’s police precincts are more than doubled.

In response to a parliamentary question, SAPS reported that their vacancy rate stood at -6 at Athlone Police Station, which had 35 detectives, Camps Bay had five detectives with a -1 vacancy rate, while Cape Town Central boasted 70 detectives but faced a staggering vacancy rate of -53.

Other precincts, such as Delft with 77 detectives and a vacancy rate of -27, Lwandle with 17 detectives and a vacancy rate of -3.

Mitchells Plain, with 110 detectives, has a vacancy rate of -28, while Manenberg has 32 detectives with a caseload of 134 and a detection rate of 52.2. Mfuleni’s detection rate stood at a mere 16.55, Lentegeur at 39.23, and Elsies River at 37.16.

Police officers on the ground, who spoke to Cape Argus anonymously, revealed the caseload at the Mitchell’s Plain and Lentegeur Police Stations has reached a shocking 120.

When approached for comment, both National Police and Cachalia's office said a statement had been issued on police numbers.

Minnen emphasised that the full scope of the crisis becomes evident when reviewing the top 14 precincts.

• Nyanga: 70 Detectives, 73 cases each
• Delft: 77 Detectives, 61 cases each
• Khayelitsha: 86 Detectives, 115 cases each
• Philippi East: 51 Detectives, 65 cases each
• Harare: 38 Detectives, 109 cases each
• Gugulethu: 44 Detectives, 96 cases each
• Kraaifontein: 62 Detectives, 92 cases each
• Mfuleni: 72 Detectives, 94 cases each
• Mitchells Plain: 110 Detectives, 82 cases each
• Bishop Lavis: 38 Detectives, 89 cases each
• Atlantis: 35 Detectives, 118 cases each
• Samora Machel: 10 Detectives, 367 cases each
• Philippi: 26 Detectives, 193 cases each
• Cape Town Central: 70 Detectives, 90 cases each

Minnen said: “We hold the National Police Commissioner and the Minister of Police directly accountable for this dereliction of duty. Their failure is measured in every unsolved case, every victim left without closure, and every community living in fear.”

In response to staffing issues, Colonel Andre Traut, said the police had deployed more than 2,500 officers since 2021. 

He further explained that SAPS has continued to strengthen its human resource capacity through national recruitment initiatives such as Project 10,000, which has added 2,408 new members to the Western Cape since 2021."

Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Anroux Marais, stated, the high caseloads faced by detectives in the Western Cape were deeply concerning.

Brett Herron, a member of the Unite for Change Leadership Council and GOOD Party remarked that crime hotspots were not being serviced correctly due to the overwhelming caseload. “There is a glaring and obvious unspoken connection in the DA’s list of the ‘top 14’ precincts."

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Cape Argus