SA police face R14 billion in civil lawsuits, not R7 billion as reported
South Africa’s police minister told parliament last
week that civil damages claims totalling R7.1 billion were laid against the
South African Police Service in the 2011 to 2012 financial year. In fact the
closing balance of civil claims in March 2012 was more than twice that.
Researched by Julian Rademeyer
UPDATE - 18 November 2014: Civil claims lodged against
police totalled R20.5-billion by the end of the 2013/14 financial
year. Around
16.5-billion in claims related to the broad category of "police
action" with an additional R1.4-billion arising from shooting
incidents, R175-million from vehicle accidents involving police and
R853-million from allegations of assault.
During the 2013/14 financial
year, police paid out R250-million in claims. A further R3.4-billion in claims
were "cancelled or reduced". Many of the amounts claimed in civil
action against the police are extremely high and highly unlikely to ever be
realised in court.
But the thousands of claims
instituted do point to high levels of police brutality, growing numbers of
shooting incidents and illustrate concerns about the training and
professionalism of the police.
South Africa’s police minister, Nathi
Mthethwa, told parliament in April 2013 that civil damages claims
totalling R7.1 billion (about US$770 million) had been laid against the South
African Police Service (SAPS) in the 2011 to 2012 financial year.
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