Minister Fritz welcomes Ombudsman’s investigation

Minister Fritz welcomes Ombudsman’s investigation, shares domestic violence report

The Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, has submitted the Department of Community Safety’s (DOCS) report on SAPS’ compliance with the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) 116 of 1998 and the SAPS National Instruction 7/1999 to the Western Cape Police Ombudsman (WCPO), Mr JJ Brand, in support of his investigation into allegations of SAPS’ inability to provide adequate victim support at police stations.

This follows after the WCPO received a complaint from an NGO, requesting an investigation into the alleged inability of SAPS to provide adequate victim support, as prescribed in the Victim Empowerment Program (VEP) of SAPS.

DOCS’ report which monitored the level of compliance of 150 police stations in the province with DVA and the SAPS’ National Instruction was conducted over a six-month period, between July and December 2017. It revealed that the Western Cape SAPS remains non-compliant with the DVA and that more volunteers are required for victim support rooms.

Minister Fritz said, “I welcome the WCPO’s investigation into allegations of SAPS’ inability to provide adequate victim support at police stations as it will improve service delivery to our residents. I have supported the investigation by sharing DOCS’ research on the levels of compliance of 150 police stations in the province with the DVA and SAPS National Instruction.”

Minister Fritz added, “With regards to victim support, the report highlighted that an important component in addressing domestic violence is victim support rooms. These rooms provide victims with much needed psycho-social support during periods of trauma. When attending to an incident of domestic violence, it must be ensured that victims receive the appropriate debriefing and care.”

“The research further shows that victim support rooms are undermined by a lack of volunteers. The lack of volunteers in victim support rooms makes it impossible to conduct follow ups with victims on services rendered by the SAPS as not all domestic violence incidents were registered and criminal cases opened,” said Minister Fritz.

Minister Fritz said, “Anyone with information that can assist the WCPO in his investigations can submit comments to ombudsman@wcpo.gov.za by 17 April 2020. Alternatively, you can contact their offices on 021 483 0669.” For further details, please see the government gazette attached.  

Attention broadcasters: please see link for English audio clip here: https://clyp.it/wx2li4sy