‘No DNA backlog’ says deputy police chief
The South African Police Service says it does not agree with claims that its forensic labs are buckling under a backlog of DNA cases.
Management has come to the police force’s defence saying officers are working harder to crack cases.
Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya was speaking at a SAPS summit in Gauteng on Wednesday.
" There is no backlog. You cannot really punish us for working hard and say there's a backlog because we're working hard, and now we're bringing in more results. Last year alone, we received 150,000 more than the previous year because of the heightened operations."
READ: DA demands audit of SAPS DNA Labs amid 140 000 backlog
Last month, the Portfolio Committee on Police told Parliament that the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory division has a DNA backlog of more than 140 000 cases.
Sibiya has explained that the increase in operations has helped turn the situation around.
" We've got what we call Operation Shanela and you get the numbers that are coming in of the people that are being arrested, where there's a need to take samples and DNA. Obviously, you will have a lot of workload that is coming in, but we are using also overtime to overcome the challenges."
