Hawks officers chronically underresourced, reportedly given pay cut

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has learned from several sources inside the South African Police Service (SAPS) that the new Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the Hawks, is in a state of disarray. We have been informed that:

• Many staff members that transferred from the Scorpions to the Hawks have had their pay lowered, by up to R26 000 per annum;
• Teams that had been working on cases for years in the Scorpions have been split up; and
• Staff have had few resources available to do their jobs over the course of the last six months. Some staff that are trained and qualified experts in their fields have not even had access to computers, photocopy machines, fax or email. Some, until recently, were using laptops from the National Prosecuting Authority, but these were due to be reclaimed last week.

A total of 639 cases were transferred from the Scorpions and Minister Mthethwa assured the public at the time that "not a single DSO investigation will be prejudiced by the transfer process" and in reply to a DA parliamentary question, the Minister confirmed that no DSO cases transferred to the SAPS had been dropped. But the reality seems to be that investigators who originally worked on cases - sometimes for years - have apparently been removed from those cases and scattered about the country, while the case files seem to have been left unattended.

We are also informed that:

• In several instances, ex-Scorpions staff are being treated with utter contempt by SAPS members and it is reported to us that none of the promised security screening processes have been completed for the Hawks.
• Ex-Scorpions members who are used to being flown quickly to the scene of an investigation, have now been told that they must use their personal vehicles to drive to wherever the investigation is being undertaken. This is apparently hampering investigations in far-flung places.
• The only work that has been completed on the Hawks Head Office is on Anwar Dramat's plush office.

We have received this information from several sources, and it makes it quite clear that the rosy picture that is being portrayed publicly is just smoke and mirrors. The citizens of this country were assured that the entity that would replace the most highly regarded crime fighting unit in South Africa, the Scorpions, would be an improvement. The testimony we have heard suggests otherwise. I will be submitting all of these matters to Minister Mthethwa in the form of parliamentary questions.

Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard, MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of police, November 11 2009

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