Abstract
When it was created, the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) was seen primarily as a mechanism for investigating and deterring human rights abuses by members of the SAPS. It was motivated by evidence of high levels of police brutality, including unjustified killings and the use of torture. However, according to ICD statistics, most complaints received by the ICD are not from victims of police brutality, but from members of the public dissatisfied with the quality of policing service provided to them. ICD statistics cannot therefore be used as indicators of overall levels of police brutality.
Highlights
The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) operates independently of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and has a separate budgetary allocation (R36.8m in the 2003-4 year), the key legal provisions dealing with the ICD are provisions of the SAPS Act (68 of 1995).[2]
Understanding the ICD mandate requires looking both at the legal provisions, and how these have been interpreted by the ICD in practice
While the legal mandate allows some flexibility on this issue, the ICD has tended to identify itself as an investigative body and places less emphasis on the question of ensuring that police carry out internal investigations effectively
Summary
The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) was seen primarily as a mechanism for investigating and deterring human rights abuses by members of the SAPS. It was motivated by evidence of high levels of police brutality, including unjustified killings and the use of torture. Another positive sign is that the number of deaths in custody or as a result of police action have, according to ICD reports, decreased by 21% between 1997/98 and 2001/02 (Figure 1). The SAPS and municipal police are required by law to notify the ICD of all deaths in police custody and as a Source: ICD
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