Hawks are looking into more than 22 400 instances worth R1.5 trillion.
Currently under investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI/Hawks) are at least 22 477 cases with a total estimated value of R1.5 trillion.
Lt Gen Godfrey Lebeya, the National Hawks Head, presented the nefarious information on Tuesday during a media briefing in Pretoria.
Lebeya focused on National Priority Offenses while reviewing achievements since his appointment in 2018.
The cases involve cash-in-transit robberies, fuel theft from Transnet pipelines, trafficking in drugs and people, as well as corruption. They also include organised crime, cybercrime, money laundering, and commercial crime. Incoherent offences like conspiracy to conduct crime and instigation to do crime are also included.
About 23 519 suspects are involved in the cases, which include more than 500 000 charges.
Lebeya claimed that out of these, 12 360 had already been acquired in court, while 11 159 had still to be contacted.
He stated that out of the cases under investigation, 1 998 had reached the decision stage and were now being considered by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Lebeya said that after assuming control in 2018, he started a “Assessment, Implementation, and Monitoring (AIM)” process to evaluate his management and organisational skills.
“This required involving the management and staff in the Directorate in order to reroute the birds,” he said. Most problems were found within the first 100 days of taking office, allowing for a comprehensive reengineering of the Directorate.
“These included an incoherent organisational structure, stagnation in some investigations, transfers of personnel from DPCI to other divisions within the SAPS [South African Police Service], nepotistic hiring practises, poor and unfair allocation of human and physical resources, and inadequate implementation of the Police Act, which adversely impacted not only the functioning of the Directorate but also the attrition of skilled personnel.”
Lebeya claimed that as a result of this anomaly, a work study was ordered, leading to the redesign of the Directorate’s completely completed organisational structure. 2019 saw the structure’s approval.
In an effort to increase capacity, the structure is currently being implemented to improve skill levels and retain personnel.
The Directorate was established in 2009 with a staff size of 2 663 people. By 2018, only 2,535 people remained.
The current value of this number is 2672. We have advertised more than 200 positions as of right now. To fill these voids, we will continue to advertise open positions that are funded, according to Lebeya.
The Directorate has recently made a number of significant appointments. These include the appointment of the Divisional Commissioner, the Deputy National Head, six Provincial Heads, Component Heads for the Priority Crime Specialized Investigations and Financial Accounting Investigation, as well as other senior managers and employees around the nation.
“85% of the positions in the Senior Management Service (SMS) have been filled, notwithstanding the delayed progress in the screening of designate appointees for Top Secret Security Clearance Certificate.
“We will be able to fill up to 100% of the positions before the end of this year, provided that the designate managers successfully navigate the vetting procedure and receive certification at the Top Security Clearance level. We intend to fill these positions over the next two fiscal years as long as the lower and middle management continue to operate at 50%, according to Lebeya.
task at hand
The DPCI had detained 12 157 people throughout the 2018–19 and 202–22 fiscal years, who were afterwards prosecuted in court.
Lebeya reported that over the same time period, 4 447 convictions were obtained nationwide.
Due of the significantly greater charges and numbers, “the convictions relate to people. I’ll give you two instances. In 2019, the Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Component alone saw 37 597 convictions.
Two natural persons and five legal individuals were found guilty on 487 counts of fraud and money laundering involving Value Added Tax (VAT), resulting in an actual loss of R110 million and a prospective loss of R440 million, in Cape Town Central CAS 1279/10/2016. On February 21, 2020, the natural persons received sentences of 17 and 16 years in prison, respectively.
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