Police Minister Bheki Cele has announced a major breakthrough in SAPS’ efforts to combat crime, declaring that South Africa’s DNA backlog has been completely cleared.
Bheki Cele insists South Africa’s DNA backlog is cleared
This statement was made during his keynote address on the crime statistics for the third quarter of 2023, covering the period from 1 October to 31 December 2023.
“There has been significant progress in the finalisation rate of DNA cases and the eradication of the historic DNA backlog which is currently standing at ZERO from 251 000 in the 2021/2022 financial year,” the minister declared.
Cele’s announcement comes after a period of intense scrutiny and criticism from the Democratic Alliance (DA), over the handling of DNA backlogs.
In June 2023, the opposition party challenged Cele’s claims, revealing that contrary to his May 2023 assertion of only 636 untested samples, the actual backlog was significantly higher, standing at 55 891 samples.
“Since assuming office in 2018, Minister Cele has been woefully ineffective, and the fact that 55 891 samples remain backlogged today, despite his knowledge of the DNA sampling issue since his appointment, implies that there may be 55 891 murderers, rapists, and criminals roaming free on our streets, while the victims are denied justice,” DA shadow police minister Andrew Whitfield said at the time.
Despite this controversy, Cele now asserts that as of Friday, 16 February 2024, there is no longer a backlog, attributing this success to the operational expansion of the DNA lab in Gqerberha, which opened in August 2023.
He credited this facility with significantly increasing the country’s capacity to process DNA samples, aiding in the resolution of numerous gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) cases.
“All these efforts have contributed positively to the SAPS fight against gender-based violence and femicide cases. For example, the NPA and SAPS project has led to more than 40 000 DNA forensic reports being finalised to ensure that cases of GBVF are prioritise,” Cele added.
Here’s a snapshot of crime statistics for Q3:2023
In addition to the DNA backlog clearance, the crime statistics for the third quarter of 2023 were released, on Friday, providing insight into the country’s current crime landscape.
There was a reported total of 7 710 murders, indicating a 2.1% increase from the previous year.
However, reductions in murder rates were observed in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Free State, attributed to focused resource allocation and attention to high-incidence areas.
Sexual offences saw a slight decrease of 1.7%, with six provinces reporting declines in this crime category, while cash-in-transit heists decreased to 46 incidents, down from the previous period, thanks to successful law enforcement operations.
Moreover, efforts against the so-called Construction Mafia resulted in 61 arrests for extortion at construction sites, with the Western Cape seeing significant action against these criminal enterprises.