DNA backlogs exceed 140,000 cases, prompting call for AG to intervene

The police DNA backlog has once again spiralled out of control and now exceeds 140,000 cases.

This emerged during parliament's portfolio committee meeting on Wednesday.

“This is a direct threat to justice, particularly for victims of gender-based violence (GBV) and other violent crimes.

“Despite repeated assurances from SAPS management and funding reprioritisation to fix this crisis, we are right back where we started in 2021,” portfolio committee chairperson Ian Cameron of the DA said.

He said the failure to process DNA evidence meant criminals walked free while victims were denied justice.

“Even worse, service contracts for forensic equipment have expired and have not been renewed, making critical instruments unusable. Tenders remain expired, and SAPS has ignored recommendations to partner with universities that have forensic capabilities.”

Cameron said some DNA evidence had even taken over 10 years just to be captured in the system.

“This failure to manage forensic services is unacceptable, and the South African Police Service leadership must be held accountable.”

Cameron says he will request the Auditor-General of South Africa to conduct a full forensic audit into the state of police forensic laboratories, contract management and the DNA backlog.

“Without urgent intervention, thousands of cases will be struck from the court rolls, violent criminals will remain on our streets, and the justice system will fail even more victims.”

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