South Africa's Justice Challenges: Over 6.2 Million Criminal Dockets Closed Due to Insufficient Evidence

South Africa faces a grave challenge in its criminal justice system, with a staggering 6.2 million crime dockets being closed from 2018 to December 2023 on account of insufficient evidence. These dockets, which span a wide array of offenses such as rape, murder, robbery, assault, hijacking, and burglary, bring into sharp focus the ongoing struggles in the nation's law enforcement agencies and judicial processes.

Information obtained by the Democratic Alliance (DA) under the Promotion of Access to Information Act has shone a disconcerting light on these statistics. The data indicates a breakdown into 11 different categories of crime. Lisa Schickerling, a DA MP, noted the troubling implications, especially given the timing within Women's Month celebrations, underscoring the urgency of addressing shortcomings in the management of crime dockets and SAPS's detective services.

Further concern arises with the revelation that a significant portion of the lost dockets pertains to open cases of murder, assault GBH, and aggravated robbery, with a shocking 68.75% specifically linked to rape and sexual assault cases in the Limpopo province, where dockets have gone missing or have been stolen.

The facts prompt critical questions about the efficiency of dockets management within the South African Police Service (SAPS) and point to the need for systemic improvements in preserving the integrity and safety of pivotal crime documentation.

As part of their action plan, the DA is calling on the Police Minister and the National Commissioner to launch an in-depth probe into these missing and stolen dockets. They have expressed their intent to write to the chairperson of the portfolio committee on police to ensure that the minister, the national commissioner, and the Limpopo provincial commissioner appear before the committee to deliberate on these serious issues. The DA also expects to hear the proposed strategies designed to rectify these significant lapses within the SAPS system.

As the nation grapples with high crime rates and strives to ensure justice for victims, the closure of such a high number of criminal cases without sufficient evidence underscores an urgent need for reform in evidence-gathering, case management, and overall policing policies.