Police Minister Bheki Cele maintains specialised intervention units give the SA Police Service (SAPS) “unique” and “indispensable” crime combatting capabilities.
Units he named in response to a question asked by Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) public representative Zandile Majozi in her capacity as a Portfolio Committee on Police (PCP) member, were public order police, tactical response teams, national intervention and special task force units.
Additionally, 20 economic infrastructure task teams (EITTs) were set up nationally, 18 of them at district level and two at provincial level. The EITTS, Cele informed his questioner, were operational in mid-2022 and will become “fully functional units” this year.
She was further told highway and motorcycle units along with water policing and diving services as well as hostage negotiation are to be added to the “visible policing specialised capabilities,” without any dates given.
SAPS crime detection now has an organised crime investigation (OCI) component focussing on “prosecution guided project investigations” with wrongdoers in the service now the responsibility of anti-corruption units, located in the detective service. OCI and anti-corruption units in all nine provinces take on cases not investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI – the Hawks). A separate investigation service for family violence, child protection and sexual offences is part of the SAPS Division: Detective and Forensic Services.
On the way are dedicated provincial murder and robbery units as “a specialised investigative response to these contact crime categories”.
Majozi was also informed that multi-disciplinary teams addressing “complex and inter-connected activities” are operational. The teams include “various law enforcement agencies and the private sector” through the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS).
