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The Select Committee on Security and Justice yesterday engaged with the management of the South African Police Service (SAPS) on incidents of escapes from police custody.
 
The committee also received a briefing from the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, on the One Stop Border Post Bill. The committee will now advertise the Bill for public input.
 
Committee Chairperson Ms Jane Seboletswe Mananiso said the meeting with SAPS was convened in light of several recent escapes from custody across the country, which continue to pose a serious challenge to the criminal justice system.
 
Escapes from lawful custody undermine public confidence in law enforcement and pose a direct threat to community safety. The Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act 51 of 1977), criminalises escape from lawful custody, and SAPS has established comprehensive policies, national instructions and standard operating procedures to strengthen preventative measures.
 
The committee was informed that, in a national comparison for the period 1 April to 31 December 2024 and 1 April to 31 December 2025, the total number of escape incidents decreased by 9.29%, from 226 in 2024 to 205 in 2025. However, the total number of escapees increased by 7.74%, from 262 in 2024 to 284 in 2025, while the number of escapees who were re-arrested increased by 7.89%, from 76 in 2024 to 82 in 2025.
 
Regarding consequence management for the period 1 April to 31 December 2025, the committee was told that the finalisation rate of disciplinary matters stood at 27.96%. A total of 224 SAPS members were charged, with 33 disciplinary hearings concluded.
 
SAPS indicated that preventing escapes requires strict discipline, constant vigilance, effective supervision, full compliance with prescribed procedures and clear accountability across all levels of command. However, these efforts are constrained by challenges such as ageing infrastructure and shortages of critical resources, which place additional pressure on operational effectiveness. SAPS further noted that disciplinary processes must be expedited through streamlined investigations, strict adherence to timelines, strengthened case management and decisive consequence management, with plans underway to establish dedicated disciplinary units.
 
Ms Mananiso expressed concern about shortcomings in consequence management, particularly regarding unaccounted cases. “We need to intervene if human error is the issue, possibly through automation. It also appears that SAPS lacks a clear strategy for consequence management. If cases are not accounted for, there is no plan to address officials who default within the system,” she said.
 
She added that the committee will continue to exercise its oversight mandate by closely monitoring SAPS’ response to these challenges.

Issued by the Parliamentary Comminication Services on behalf of the chairperson of the Select committee on Security and Justice, Jane Seboletswe Mananiso