Last week, the Portfolio Committee on Police (South Africa) met to consider the 2023/24 Annual Report of South Africa’s National Forensic Oversight and Ethics Board (DNA Board). With one of the most established and largest DNA databases in Africa, it is interesting to reflect on some of the key points and concerns raised at the meeting, along with the DNA Board's report, which evaluates the overall performance of the three forensic science laboratories (FSLs) in South Africa and the DNA database between 2023 and 2024.
HERE ARE SOME KEY POINTS RAISED:
The DNA Board reported that the completion rate of routine forensic cases for the reporting period remained below target.
Only 13.6% of routine case submissions were completed within the required 35 calendar days.
199,485 out of 300,438 DNA intelligence entries were completed within 90 calendar days.
During the year, only 300,997 of the 364,477 arrestee samples were collected, indicating a challenge in building the DNA database.
The turnaround time for the prioritised gender-based violence and femicide cases was underreported, and it seemed most court cases were delayed because the DNA sample analysis had not been concluded.
It seems that the figures provided by the DNA board did not account for cases that had been received but not yet registered, which is where the true backlog lies..
The Chairperson felt that the report reflected figures without proper interpretation, and due to time constraints, matters concerning the DNA Board were not fully concluded. A decision was made to arrange a follow-up engagement for a thorough assessment of the issues.
Committee members also commented on the need for better oversight by the DNA Board and emphasised the necessity for the board to present actionable solutions—not just data. The Chairperson also suggested exploring other partnerships to address capacity challenges and noted that the lab’s situation is more complex than simply being under pressure; for example, there were issues with non-compliance with awarded tenders and delays in ordering consumables, which have led to more backlogs. |
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