Detective Service
The Detective Service of the SAPS is responsible for
the investigation of crime. It consists of six components,
namely General Investigation, Criminal Record Centre, Forensic
Science Laboratory, and Serious and Violent Crime, Organised
Crime and Commercial Branch.
General Investigation is made up of operational detectives
who investigate a broad category or crime. They normally work
from police stations. The detectives at police stations carry
out duties such as -
- gathering evidence;
- executing warrants of arrest or search warrants;
- using investigative techniques;
- preparing case dockets for court proceedings;
- attending crime scenes;
- tracking and arresting suspects;
- searching premises and seizing evidence;
- investigating reported crime; and
- serving summonses and subpoenas.
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Detectives working at Serious and Violent Crime (SVC)
carry out the following duties:
- Investigate crimes against the State.
- Investigate murders involving important persons, the
judiciary, politicians and members of the SAPS.
- Investigate actual or attempted armed robberies of
financial institutions such as commercial banks.
- Investigate actual or attempted cash-in-transit heists.
- Investigate vehicle highjackings in which victims were
shot.
- Investigate specific robberies and the theft of
firearms.
- Investigate specific series of crimes of a serious and
violent nature such as serial murders and rapes.
- Investigate intergroup violence, for example, political
violence, taxi violence, train violence, gang violence and
faction fighting.
- Investigate actual or attempted attacks on residents of
farms and smallholdings.
The Commercial Branch investigates and prevents
commercial crime. Therefore, it promotes the economic growth and
prosperity of the country. The Commercial Branch investigates
offences in terms of statutes (acts) and regulations regarding,
for example, accountants and auditors, agriculture, banking and
currency, companies, courts, debtors and creditors.
Under the common law, the Commercial Branch is also
responsible for investigating fraud and theft committed under
the following circumstances:
Fraud
- Fraud originating from inter-company or close
corporation transactions only.
- Fraud by means of the double discounting of instalment
sale agreements.
- Fraud originating from transactions on the stock
exchange.
- Fraud by means of ‘factoring’ (the manufacture of one’s
own cheques to commit fraud).
- Fraud committed by means of stolen bank cards, debit
cards, petrol cards and credit cards.
Theft
- Theft of trust money by any person who is legally bound
to keep a separate trust account.
- Theft of the funds or assets of deceased estates by
executors.
- Theft of the funds or assets of insolvent estates or
estates under curatorship by trustees or liquidators.
Other responsibilities of the Commercial Branch are to
investigate -
- white plastic (modified plastic cards used for fraud);
- clone cheques; and
- forgery and uttering (falsification and circulation) of
credit cards, debit cards and petrol cards.
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Detectives of the Organized Crime Component
investigate offences relating to -
- diamonds and gold;
- narcotics;
- endangered species;
- high-flyers; and
- illegal alliances such as syndicates.
The component also investigates -
- stock theft;
- human trafficking related crimes;
- cash-in-transit robberies;
- corruption;
- vehicle crime; and
- cross-border crime.
Organized crime projects include -
- projects that are targeted at individuals nationally and
internationally;
- projects of the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs
Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO);
- projects that target pharmaceutical crimes; and
- projects of the National Crime Combating Forum.
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