Covid-19 Lockdown: Police killed 32 people in 40 days new study shows

During the first 40 days of the Covid-19 lockdown 32 people were killed and 25 people were allegedly tortured at the hands of the police in South Africa.
This is according to statistics recorded by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and published in a research document entitled “How to reduce police brutality in South Africa” released by the Institute for Security Studies. The report highlights incidents during the Covid-19 lockdown and the systemic problem of police abuse of force that remains within the rank and file of the SAPS.
Independent researcher, David Bruce, who specialises in policing and public security and has written extensively on police violence in South Africa, penned the research the report. Bruce was also member of the panel of experts appointed by the Minister of Police on the recommendation of the Marikana Commission of Inquiry.

“Police violence has always been a major problem in South Africa. During the transition to democracy, steps were taken to ensure police compliance with human rights standards. But the abuse of force remains a systemic feature of policing. Generally, police violence is neglected partly because most of it is directed at black men and others in marginal positions in South African society.”

Institute for Security Studies report: How to reduce police brutality in South Africa by David Bruce

The report noted that ongoing police violence was a reflection of the limitations of police transformation since 1994.

“In 2020 the issue of police violence again came to the fore in South Africa during the early stages of the national lockdown. The lockdown was intended to assist with efforts to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic as part of the national State of Disaster declared in March 2020,” the report said.

According to the report during the first 40 days of the Covid-19 lockdown IPID had recorded 589 complaints of assault against the police, 141 complaints relating to the discharge of an official firearm, 32 deaths as a result of police action, 25 cases of torture, and eight alleged rapes by police officers during the first 40 days of the lockdown in 220.
Of the total of 827 cases received during this period, 376, including 10 of the 32 deaths as a result of police action, were allegedly linked to the enforcement of the lockdown. In total, during this period IPID had received 32% more complaints against the police when compared to the same period in the
previous year.

The report also noted that in recent years there had been few successful convictions of police officers following complaints and the rate of internal disciplinary action was also extremely low.

Relative to cases received, the percentage of IPID investigations that had resulted in criminal convictions during the seven-year period ending in March 2019 was 0.9% for complaints relating to the discharge of anofficial firearm, 0.6% for assault and 0.2% for torture.
During the same period, only 2% of the complaints relating to the discharge of an official firearm resulted in disciplinary convictions. For torture, the figure was also 2% while for assault it was 2.8%.46 As compared to the outcomes achieved in the US examples referred to, IPID’s figures are therefore neither particularly good nor bad.

“One factor that contributes to the prevalence of violence by police is an absence of accountability. The absence of accountability of police officers who abuse force is an ongoing problem in South Africa and many other countries,” the report said.
However, for police accountability to be strengthened significantly, the main focus needed to shift to ensure that the SAPS as directly accountable for how police use force.

This means that:

• The SAPS must record information about how its members are using force to be able to report to Parliament and the public about this.
• Parliament must require that the SAPS reports to it directly about how its members are using force.
• Steps must be taken to strengthen accountability by SAPS members when they are involved in using force.