Amendment of SAPS Act to give metro cops teeth to probe cases on the cards: Parliament
On Wednesday, Eyewitness News posed the question of whether metro police departments should be allowed to investigate cases within their mandate of traffic and by-law enforcement.
Chief of Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department leading a by-law operation in Pretoria East focusing on illegal street trading on 17 September 2024. Picture: Supplied/@TMPDSafety on X
JOHANNESBURG - The chairperson of the portfolio committee on police says an amendment of the South African Police Service (SAPS) Act to allow metro police to investigate cases is on the cards.
On Wednesday, Eyewitness News posed the question of whether metro police departments should be allowed to investigate cases within their mandate of traffic and by-law enforcement.
This stems from the Chapter 4 White Paper on Policing that calls for a regulatory framework to be established to allow metro police certain investigative powers.
Metro police departments in seven of the country’s major cities could in the near future be granted investigative powers to pursue cases on prosecution.
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The chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on policing, Seabi Seabi, told Eyewitness News that his administration attempted to amend to the SAPS Act to allow this to happen, but time's not on their side.
"By the time the executives submitted the proposed amendment bill, looking at what is needed to amend, including consultations, doing hearings, we thought as the portfolio committee we will not have enough time until the end of the term."
He says as part of sixth administrations legacy report, the amendment of the National Police Act to allow metro police to investigate cases is a priority and will be handed over to the seventh administration.