South Africa: Committee Urges South African Police Service (SAPS) to Prioritise Training to Ensure that all Stations Respond Adequately in Missing Children Cases
The Portfolio Committee on Police has reiterated its concern that some South African police stations continue to ignore the National Commissioner's directive that police must respond immediately in cases of missing persons. The committee held a follow-up meeting with the SAPS and Women Empowerment Platform on violence against children regarding the matter of Jayden Lee Meek and other missing children.
'What came out of all the cases of missing children is the lethargy that the SAPS at police stations have generally responded when the case is reported. If the SAPS adhered to the directive that there is no waiting time to respond, many of these children could have been found alive,' said Mr Ian Cameron.
The committee reiterated that no 24- or 48-hour rule precludes members of the public from opening a missing person's report. A missing person report must be opened and investigated immediately. An insistence to prevent the opening of a missing person report is irresponsible and runs counter to the directive issued by the National Commissioner of the SAPS. 'The committee has also emphasised that in a case where an officer refuses to open a case they can be reported.
The committee also emphasised the communication shortcomings from the SAPS in keeping families updated on the progress of the case. According to the committee, continuous updates are necessary to assure communities and families that the SAPS is continuously investigating and that justice will be attained. It is important that SAPS also follow every lead to ensure justice. It is unacceptable that some cases are closed as undetected. For example, the case of Mia Botha has been ongoing for over 1 000 days, and there has not been tangible progress.
The importance of the police K9 unit was also highlighted as an intervention that could have assisted the search in the Jayden Lee Meek and other similar cases. It remains unacceptable that the K9 unit in the SAPS remains severely underfunded and under-resourced. 'The continued disregard of this critical capability in the SAPS is illogical and undermines the police's ability to undertake effective search and rescue missions, 'Mr Cameron emphasised.
Despite these concerns, the committee welcomed the active participation of civil society, such as the Women Empowerment Platform on violence against children. The contributions by civil society in finding solutions to the high crime rate must be encouraged. 'We reiterate the call that combating crime requires a whole-of-society approach if it is to be successful. The SAPS alone cannot effectively fight crime,' Mr Cameron said.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson reiterated the committee's apologies for the miscommunication that resulted in erroneous reporting following the meeting held on 11 June 2025. The committee emphasised that there was no clarity that the meeting will be virtual and that representatives of the Women Empowerment Platform had planned to travel to Parliament and to hand over a memorandum. The committee reiterate its agreement with the Women Empowerment Platform that cases of violence against children must be investigated to ensure justice.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
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