Protector or predator? - Institute for Security Studies

Gareth Newham and Andrew Faull
of the ACU from roughly 250 to 145 staff members. As a result, the ACU had fewer
staff to deal with information about corrupt police members, register investigations,
make arrests and ultimately contribute to the conviction of corrupt police
members. It is possible if not likely, that had the number or personnel of units
been increased, the number of cases received by the ACU and the investigations
initiated would have further increased.
The huge discrepancy between the number of allegations made and the
number of police members charged and ultimately convicted points to crucial
shortcomings in the system. Apart from the substantial amount of time it takes
to gather enough evidence to charge a police member, once formal charges have
been laid the criminal case might take more than a year before the court reaches
a verdict.
While these delays partly explain the discrepancy between the reporting,
charging and conviction figures, the ACU faced bigger obstacles. A large number
of people who provided information upon which the ACU relied, did so anonymously,
were directly implicated in corruption and could themselves have been
charged with corruption, had their identities been known. 109 They also feared
repercussions if their identities were made known to the police member under
investigation. Consequently, while the ACU may have received information that a
certain police member had been involved in an incident of corruption, there was
usually little other evidence that could be used to secure a conviction, and most
cases did not progress very far.
In 2000 uncertainty emerged about the future of the Anti-Corruption Unit
following the closure of some of its provincial offices. In 2002 a Public Service
Commission Review of South Africa’s national anti-corruption agencies forwarded
this recommendation:
Uncertainty around the future of the Unit must be cleared up as a matter of
urgency. It is important to retain a specific and dedicated focus on addressing
corruption in the Criminal Justice System, which this Unit has done effectively
over the years. 110
In spite of this recommendation the ACU was closed down during the course of
2002. The SAPS officially announced that this was part of the restructuring and
amalgamation of all its specialised units. But what made this closure particularly
surprising was that during the strategic planning process held in 1999 to develop
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