The South African Police Service (SAPS) Forensic Science Laboratory is once again under scrutiny as it faces a DNA backlog crisis that now exceeds 140,000 cases.

This was brought to light by the Portfolio Committee on Police this week, which chairperson, Ian Cameron, said proves the dire state of forensic testing.

This follows previous claims of progress from former Police Minister, Bheki Cele, who stated that a backlog of 251,000 cases had been reduced by 99.3% in the third quarter of the 2023/24 financial year. He said that backlog was on “zero” in February last year.

This crisis initially came to be in 2020, when a system used in the process was shut down due to non-payment.

The advocacy group, Action Society, has cast doubt over the accuracy of Cele’s claim and has expressed deep concern, accusing SAPS of covering up the extent of the backlog.

 “The fact that the backlog is at 140,000 cases again proves that SAPS has been trying to hide the dire state of laboratories to the public… This ongoing crisis has become a human rights violation that undermines South Africans’ constitutionally entrenched rights to equality, fair administrative action,” said Juanita Du Preez, spokesperson for Action Society.

Du Preez pointed out that the backlog has led to severe delays in processing DNA evidence, which plays a major role in prosecuting violent crimes, including gender-based violence (GBV) cases. She said the lack of timely DNA testing has allowed dangerous perpetrators to go free.

“Despite [President Cyril Ramaphosa] proclaiming war against GBV, the SAPS are not taking any real action to sort out the DNA backlog.”

Meanwhile, Cameron noted that despite repeated assurances and financial reprioritisation, the backlog remains high.

“It is inconceivable that despite various interactions and interventions to resolve the backlog and ensure scientific-based prosecution of cases, the backlog remains stubbornly high. Those in positions of authority must be held accountable for this mess, as it represents a clear case of dereliction of duty.”

He, like Action Society, has called for a full forensic audit by the Office of the Auditor General to uncover the failures within the SAP’s forensics division.

Public-Private Partnerships

In light of the ongoing crisis, Action Society is calling for public-private partnerships (PPP) to help address the backlog and streamline the forensic process.

Kaylynn Palm, another spokesperson for the group, emphasised the urgency of forming a specialised task force to tackle the issue.

“We believe that the only way forward is to establish a specialised SAPS task force to address the backlog of gender-based violence cases. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) will facilitate faster case resolutions by, among other things, funding for forensic support.”