Last week (10 June) the Portfolio Committee on Police met with a number of key stakeholders to follow up on issues relating to the modernisation of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
The Committee previously met with SAPS on 13 May 2015 where it was briefed on its CJS, Integrated Justice System (IJS) and Technology Management System (TMS) projects.
At this meeting, it came to the fore that there were certain challenges experienced in terms of the execution of some of the projects with some of the role-players. There were currently 73 technology projects run by SAPS of which 15 were linked to other departments.
This follow-up meeting afforded the Committee the opportunity to meet with the relevant stakeholders, e.g. SITA, Department of Public Works (DPW) and Department of Home Affairs (DHA), to get a full picture of the issues at hand.
During the meeting the Committee heard a presentation by SITA (State Information Technology Agency) where the role of SITA, status, time and outstanding matters on a number of projects were discussed – which included:
- National Forensic DNA Database (NFDD): SITA appointed a team to assist the SAPS in the implementation of the NFDD (CODIS) solution. The team had started the preparation of the environment from where the system will operate.
- LABWARE: A software solution procured by SAPS directly, which managed workflow of all specimen in the forensic LAB
- Forensic Science Laboratory Administration System: Administration system behind the forensic science laboratory
Following SITA’s presentation, Vanessa, as Deputy Chair of the National Forensic Oversight and Ethics Board, asked SITA if the decision had been made to implement CODIS and when it was anticipated this would take place.
In response, Lt. Gen. JK Phalane, SAPS Divisional Commissioner: Forensic Services, replied saying that SAPS had since opted to have a security assessment on CODIS in collaboration with the State Security Agency. Once there was an outcome of the assessment, SAPS would then provide an internal instruction.
She also questioned the blockages created through the chemistries employed and that there seemed to be a procurement issue with the new DNA kits being used. The integrity of the database rested on the data being inputted and she was concerned about compromising this integrity.
To view the full meeting minutes, please click here.
