Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
20 June 2025 | 13:00 CAT
3 min read

With nearly 15,000 unresolved cases of alleged police misconduct still on its books, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has come under growing pressure to act decisively. Years of understaffing and underfunding have left the institution struggling to keep pace, particularly in high-pressure provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

In an interview with Radio Islam, IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping confirmed that limited manpower has been the biggest hurdle. “In 2023/2024, we had 168 investigators as opposed to the number of police officers, both within the South African Police Service and the Metro. In essence, one investigator was responsible for about 300 dockets, which is an anomaly. And that is the challenge that we had that has led to the accumulation of the backlog cases,” she said.

A much-needed R126.3 million budget injection over the next three years may not solve all of IPID’s problems, but it’s a step forward. Suping stressed that while the additional funding is not fully adequate, it will “alleviate some of the pressures.”

She said the funds will allow the directorate to adopt a phased approach to strengthen its investigation teams. “We are going to bring about 50 retired detectives on a contract basis to assist us specifically on the backlog. But we are also going to bring in permanent investigators,” she added.

As part of its plan, IPID has set an annual target of closing at least 3,500 cases, with the aim of significantly reducing the backlog within the three-year window. “This 3,500 is just a minimum number. We hope to be at 3.5 or more,” she said.

However, hiring the right people remains a challenge. “We need people who have qualifications or expertise in policing… people who also have experience,” Suping said. She added that specific expertise is especially critical for serious cases, including “death due to police action” and “discharge of an official firearm.”

She also highlighted IPID’s dependence on external institutions to complete investigations, such as forensic labs and the Department of Health, which provide essential reports like post-mortems and DNA analysis.

Public trust in policing remains low, something Suping acknowledged. “That is very true, that the public has lost confidence in policing. But as IPID, through our work, which is to conduct independent investigations, we need to instil that confidence,” she said.

She noted that improving systems and fully capacitating the directorate would be key to restoring public trust in law enforcement accountability.

Despite challenges, Suping pointed to signs of progress. “In the 2023/24 year, our conviction rate was at 46%. But when we talk 2024/25, there is a huge increase because our conviction rate has now gone up to 76%,” she explained.

According to Suping, this marked a clear improvement in holding officers accountable and pushing cases through to court. “Our responsibility is to investigate and empower the prosecution so that the case can go before the court. A lot of our cases are on the court roll, and that is a positive,” she said.

As IPID begins to roll out its new plan, all eyes will be on whether the changes will deliver long-awaited justice, not only for victims of police misconduct, but for the communities relying on accountability to restore trust.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat and Lizzy Suping, IPID National spokesperson, here.