‘Alarmingly low’ drug conviction rate at Boksburg North SAPS
Recent replies to Parliamentary questions reveal that the drug conviction rate at the Boksburg North SAPS is alarmingly low.
During the 2015/2016 financial year, only 73 of the total of 707 drug-related cases that went to court resulted in convictions.
“This shocking state of affairs requires immediate attention and I will be writing to the Minister of Police, Nkosinathi Nhleko, requesting his urgent intervention in this matter,” said DA MP Mike Waters.
Waters added that it is quite obvious that the scrapping of the specialised narcotics unit has had a detrimental effect on the ability of the police to obtain successful convictions and to combat this scourge.
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“We need a specialised unit that is trained in identifying illegal substances and can see a case through to a conviction,” he stated.
“Our children are becoming targets of drug peddlers and the effects on our community are devastating, with many young lives being ruined.”
Waters shared the conviction rates in percentages for Boksburg North Police Station for the last three years:
*In 2013/2013 there were 76 convictions from 709 cases.
*In 2014/2015 there were 61 convictions from 816 cases.
*In 2015/2016 there were 73 convicions from 707 cases.
According to Waters, these rates indicate that about 90 per cent of drug-related crimes in Boksburg North do not lead to convictions and offenders are getting away with their crimes.
“What is also obvious is that the more cases each detective is expected to investigate, the greater the direct and negative impact on their ability to get convictions.
“While the maximum number of cases each detective is supposed to investigate at any given time is 45, a recent visit to the station revealed that the detectives in Boksburg North are investigating 506 cases each,” he explained, adding that this is nearly 12 times the maximum number of cases any detective is permitted to investigate at any given time.
“It is obvious that Minister Nhleko does not take effective crime-fighting or the effect of overloading our detectives with cases seriously. As a result the safety of our communities are being jeopardised,” he said.
“While policing is a National Government competency, this has not deterred the DA from taking initiatives in Cape Town, where we have established a stabilisation unit to combat drug and gang-related violence.
“This will also be possible in a DA-run Ekurhuleni.”
