Action Society urges members of the public to follow up on criminal cases lest they find themselves in a position where the case is closed without being provided with a reason nor a road toward justice.
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), more than 1 million cases are closed every year. In May of this year, former minister of police Bheki Cele revealed that 1 051 340 cases were closed without a result in the 2022/2023 financial year. The highest number from the five-year period was 1 215 394 back in 2017/2018.
“These are not just numbers; they represent people dealing with trauma and a broken justice system adding to it. They represent victims of crime who are left without answers and criminals getting away with crimes. We demand that the new minister of police and minister of justice deal with these issues timeously. Meanwhile, each victim should continue to advocate for their cases by following up with their investigating officer at least once a month to ensure their cases don’t land on the ‘closed’ pile,” said du Preez.
Action Society has heard from trusted sources that in some cases even the detectives don’t know the cases are closed.
Gauteng has the most number of closed cases with a total of 331 965 closed cases in the 2022/23 financial year. In March, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had sent 1.8 million case dockets back to the police for further investigations since 2018. The NPA suggested that a shortage of detectives is part of the reason for these numbers.
Closing cases because investigators are overworked and cannot therefore properly investigate, is a massive red flag and not acceptable at all. In addition, closing cases without resolution does not bring justice or closure to victims.
“Oversight is one of the core activities of Action Society. We oversee between 40 and 60 cases at any given time and even with weekly and monthly check-ins, it takes up to four years to get justice. If you are a victim of crime, we call on you to not give up. Your quest for justice can save someone else from becoming a victim,” du Preez concluded.
