Over 15 000 civil claims against police were lodged in the space of 12 months, leading management to increase training for officers.
The state has parted ways with over half a billion rand in payments for civil claims against police in the space of 12 months.
Data showed that the state and the police ministry were reluctant to settle matters, instead forcing the courts to grant payment orders to complainants.
The police ministry noted that officers had been undergoing training in order to prevent situations that would cost the state down the line.
Over 15 000 civil claims
The minister of police was asked via a written submission in parliament about the scale of civil claims against police in the country.
The ministry replied with the latest available figures, presenting the stats for the 2023/24 financial year as more recent claims were still in the legal pipeline.
Data provided for the period mentioned, showed that 15 067 civil claims were made against police for wrongful arrest, as well as another 180 related to shooting incidents.
The combined amount of the claims totalled R14.8 billion for arrests and detentions, and R741 million for the shooting-related civil claims.
“It must be noted that the above reflect the total number of new claims received during the 2023/2024 financial year and the amount claimed,” the police ministry noted.
The respondents — the state and the police minster — settled the claims out of court roughly 5% of the time, with the remainder of claimants requiring a court order to force payment.
For arrests and detention, the state paid out R466 million — R20.6 million through settlement and R445 million by court order.
In civil claims related to shooting incidents, settlements accounted for R4.4 million, while court orders forced the payment of R57.8 million
Reiterating national instructions
The police ministry stated it was implementing several measures to help officers to avoid “undesirable consequences”.
These measures centre around “mind-set changes” as well as the “attitudes and behaviours” of officers through rigorous internal communications programmes.
“The issue of civil claims has been identified as a strategic risk for the department, requiring that specified risk owners implement specific actions to mitigate, or reduce the incidence of civil claims,” explained the ministry.
A risk committee was set up to report mitigation measures to management and additional training on how to guard against civil claims was touted.
Areas of police work mentioned as needing attention centred around the treatment of arrested people, dealing with domestic violence incidents and crowd management, among others.
“[This includes] the drafting of and workshopping of members on specific instructions aimed at regulating the powers that are accorded to Saps members,” the ministry concluded.
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