The Portfolio Committee on Police and civil rights organization Action Society have strongly condemned the South African Police Service (SAPS) for misleading the public about the severity of the DNA backlog crisis. Despite previous assurances that the backlog was being addressed, it has once again ballooned to over 140,000 cases, exposing systemic failures within SAPS’s Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) division.
Action Society has accused SAPS of downplaying the extent of the crisis for the past two years, creating a human rights violation that infringes upon South Africans’ constitutional rights to equality, fair administrative action, and access to courts. The organisation has called on the Auditor-General of South Africa to urgently investigate the backlog and further urged SAPS to enter into public-private partnerships with private forensic laboratories and universities to accelerate DNA testing and analysis.
“DNA evidence is one of the most powerful tools in crime-fighting, yet despite the government’s repeated promises, especially regarding gender-based violence (GBV), SAPS has failed to take decisive action. Thousands of victims of rape and violent crime, as well as families of murder victims, are left in limbo while perpetrators walk free,” said Action Society spokesperson, Juanita du Preez.
The DNA backlog crisis is not new. In 2020, forensic testing ground to a halt when then-Police Minister Bheki Cele failed to ensure payment for the PCEM system, causing the system to shut down and creating an initial backlog of over 125,000 cases, 92% of which were related to sexual assault kits. In April 2021, Action Society revealed that the backlog had escalated to 241,152 cases. By July 2021, the backlog exceeded 300,000 cases, prompting Action Society to file a complaint with the Public Protector.
“It is inconceivable that despite various interactions and interventions, as well as the reprioritisation of funding to resolve the backlog and ensure the scientific-based prosecution of cases, the backlog remains stubbornly high. This will lead to cases being removed from the court roll, allowing criminals to walk free. Those in authority must be held accountable for this mess, it is a clear case of dereliction of duty,” stated Ian Cameron, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police.
The Office of the Public Protector (OPP) took two years to respond to Action Society’s complaint against Cele, President Cyril Ramaphosa, SAPS, the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), and the FSL. Its 2023 report found that financial mismanagement, including under-budgeting, under-spending, and failure to renew supplier contracts, was a key driver of the backlog. Additionally, the report highlighted that SAPS’ centralised procurement system created inefficiencies, and forensic laboratories were inadequately equipped, with poor layouts and insufficient storage capacity further hampering workflows.
Despite multiple commitments to Parliament, SAPS has failed to renew critical service contracts for forensic equipment, resulting in unusable machinery and a worsening backlog. Furthermore, SAPS leadership has ignored recommendations to collaborate with universities that have forensic capabilities, demonstrating a continued disregard for practical solutions. The ongoing mismanagement of forensic services has severely compromised the justice system, delaying or outright preventing criminal prosecutions.
“In 2021, in the midst of the worst backlog crisis within the division, SAPS management stood in front of everyone and made commitments that they have now seemingly disregarded. It is unacceptable that measures promised to ensure the National Forensic Science Laboratories’ productivity were nothing more than lip service,” Cameron emphasised. “People must be held accountable.”
In response, Cameron has announced that he will formally request the Office of the Auditor-General to conduct a full forensic audit of SAPS’ DNA processing, forensic laboratory operations, and contract management. “It is clear that the public deserves transparency on where the failures are occurring, who is responsible, and what must be done to fix it.”
The Portfolio Committee on Police and Action Society insist that SAPS’s Forensic Laboratory Services must be urgently restructured and stabilised to ensure that DNA evidence can be processed efficiently. “If SAPS management is not held accountable for this ongoing failure, trust in South Africa’s criminal justice system will continue to deteriorate,” Cameron warned.
For more security-related reporting, visit ProtectionWeb here.
