Police Oversight and Com-munity Safety

(1)   (a)            The Department of Police Oversight and Community  Safety currently does                 not have specific standalone programmes dedicated to Gender-Based                  Violence (GBV). However, it supports existing GBV initiatives within the                              Overberg District through its District and Local Community Safety Forums,                    utilising portions of the Whole of Society Approach (WOSA) funding allocated             to GBV programmes implemented in the district.

                  Furthermore, the Department initiated four GBV Ambassador programmes,                     which were subsequently transferred to the Department of Social                              Development (DSD) following the completion of the recruitment process.                    Ambassadors were recruited from accredited Neighbourhood Watch                            volunteers in Grabouw, Zwelihle, Bredasdorp, and Swellendam. All four                    programmes remain active and continue to function effectively.

      (b)       The Department works in partnership with civil society organisations i.e. Local                Community Police Forums, Neighbourhood Watch structures and local NGOs                  in the above-mentioned  four areas to support and strengthen the response               to GBV at a local level. These partnerships are facilitated through the District                and Local Community Safety Forums, which bring together government             departments, non-governmental organisations, community-based                               organisations, and other stakeholders.

                  Through these collaborative structures, the Department supports                              coordinated interventions, information sharing, and community-based                       initiatives aimed at improving prevention, reporting, and support services for              victims of GBV. Civil society partners play a critical role in awareness-raising,               community mobilisation, and the provision of support services within                              communities.

      (c)       The Department coordinates localised interventions aimed at strengthening              the investigation of GBV through its District and Local Community Safety                Forums. These forums facilitate interdepartmental and multi-sectoral                             collaboration between key stakeholders, including the South African Police                Service, the National Prosecuting Authority, the Department of Social                            Development, and relevant civil society organisations.

                 Through these structures, the Department supports improved coordination of                       case management, information sharing, and targeted responses to GBV       incidents at a local level. In addition, the Department utilises Whole of Society              Approach (WOSA) funding to support community-based initiatives that                       enhance reporting mechanisms, strengthen referral pathways, and promote               community involvement in addressing GBV.

(2) (a)       The Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety monitors the level                        of compliance of the South African Police Service (SAPS) implementation of               the Domestic Violence Amendment Act (Act 14/2021) as well as the                                   corresponding SAPS National Instruction i.e. Instruction 7/1999 and                     Consolidation notice 6/2023).

The province has 30 top police stations in terms on domestic violence crime. Of these police stations, Mitchell’s Plain, Delft, Mfuleni, Worcester, Kleinvlei and Paarl East record the highest number of incidents and criminal cases. Table 1 shows the proportion of domestic violence incidents in the 30 top police stations for 2025/26 financial year. SAPS provided the Department with proportional percentage of domestic violence cases registered at these stations. These stations account for 59,3% of all the domestic violence cases registered in the province.

In line with mandate of the Department for the 12- month period of July 2025 to June 2026, 34 police stations were monitored on their compliance with domestic violence legislation. Of these 34 police stations, five (5) were part of the top 30 domestic violence stations (Annexure A). These five stations are Thembalethu, Mitchells Plain, Beaufort West, Manenberg and Mfuleni. Table 2 provides additional and specific case information for these stations. It should be noted that the conviction rate stated in this table is based on data collected, analysed for the 3-months prior the actual assessment. It is thus, not representative of the overall conviction rate of these stations for the 12 months period.

(b)       Upon conducting the assessment, the Department recommended the                following interventions to the management of police station to improve             service delivery.

Affected police station management must strengthen their investigation capacity and engage the prosecutors of their courts to determine factors that contribute to low conviction rates and withdrawal of domestic violence cases.

• Station commanders should implement a system to track progress regarding arrest rates in domestic violence cases registered, and track receiving and serving of protection orders.
• Station commanders must ensure that regular first level inspections are done on all documentation (domestic violence forms and registers) to ensure accuracy and completeness.
• The Visible Police component at each police station should take collective responsibility to serve protection orders. Such approach will ensure that protection orders are served within 48 hours.

(3)   (a)     Specific oversight steps taken to evaluate the performance of the SAPS in                               investigating GBV-related offences include ensuring that the Court Watching                                    Brief unit focuses on domestic violence and sexual offences cases to                                    determine reasons that result in these cases to be either withdrawn or struck                                off the court roll. This was in addition to the continuous monitoring of SAPS                    compliance with the implementation of Domestic Violence Act. The results                            thereof and recommendations are reported to the office of the SAPS                          Provincial Commissioner.

(b)     In terms of station audits, 34 police stations were monitored on Domestic                  Violence Act compliance as per the monitoring tool prescribed by the           Civilian Secretariat for Police Service (CSPS). Four quarterly consolidated                    reports were compiled on the results of the monitoring. Furthermore, the Court      Watching Brief process continued to focus on domestic violence cases to                determine SAPS systematic inefficiencies in their investigation process.

(4)   (a)     Overall, the contents of table 1 on the top 30 domestic violence criminal case                      stations for 2025/26 shows that reporting of domestic violence is shifting to                  rural areas. In previous years, Worcester police station would occupy the                      lower stratum of the top stations i.e. between position 20 to 30 of the top                      domestic violence police stations. Recently, the situation deteriorated such         that Worcester is now in position 4 in the 2025/26 financial year top stations.

Moreover, it is concerning that the Garden Route police stations namely Knysna, Oudtshoorn and Thembalethu are occupying positions 11, 13 and 23 respectively. For the West Coast district, Vredenburg police is in position 25, and for the Central Karoo district, Beaufort West police station is in position 26 on the list. Lastly, the situation in Robertson worsened to the level where the domestic violence registered for this station is now in the list, while the station previously would not be in the list. The increase in the number of domestic violence cases has dual interpretation. It could mean an increase domestic violence or an increase in the reporting of these cases.

(b)     It is recommended that the specific communities outlined in Table 1 be          flagged as requiring urgent and targeted structural intervention: it is   recommended that outside the Cape Town Metro and neighbouring           Winelands districts stations as per the list (see table 1), the communities of the       following areas to be flagged for targeted intervention:  Worcester, Knysna,           Oudtshoorn, Thembalethu, Beaufort West and Vredenburg.

(5)   (a)     The Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety uses the annual                           Policing Needs and Priorities (PNPs) as a strategic vehicle to report policing                need and priorities in the province and police oversight findings to the Minister                           of Police. In this context, general human and vehicle resource shortfall will                  form part of the PNPs.

(b)     Thus far, the Department is yet to submit formal recommendations to the    Minister of Police specifically on the effectiveness of GBV investigations in the      province. The Court Watching Brief findings and recommendations are    however forwarded to the office of the Provincial commissioner.

Table 1: The top 30 Domestic Violence Police Stations for 2025/26 financial year

Table 2: Stations in top 30 Domestic Violence stations monitored by POCS, July 2025 –June 2026

Annexure A: Stations monitored by POCS on DV compliance: Qrt 2,3 and 4 of 2025/26 and Qrt 1 of 2026/27