Civilian Secretariat for Police Service Act, 2011 (Act No. 2 of 2011)RegulationsCivilian Secretariat for Police Service Regulations, 2016Chapter 5 : Complaints20. Evaluation of a complaint |
| (1) | In assessing whether a complaint may be dealt with, the Secretary or a Head of Provincial Secretariat may take into consideration the following factors— |
| (a) | whether the Secretariat or Provincial Secretariat is mandated to receive and investigate the complaint; |
| (b) | whether the police service complained about is a police service as defined in the Act; |
| (c) | whether the police has conducted or is conducting an investigation of its own; |
| (d) | whether the complainant has exhausted the internal remedies available in the police service; |
| (e) | whether the complainant has also exercised his or her right in a court of law or a competent tribunal; |
| (f) | whether the complaint is not deemed to be trivial, frivolous, vexatious or in bad faith; and |
| (g) | whether the complaint should be referred to an appropriate authority or institution that is competent to deal with such complaint. |
| (2) | Where the Secretary or a head of a provincial secretariat is of the opinion that additional information is required, he or she may request the information from the police service to inform his or her decision on whether a complaint should be investigated or not. |
| (3) | Where the Secretary or a head of a provincial secretariat, after considering all the relevant factors and available information, decides not to pursue the complaint, but that it should rather be referred to the police service or to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, such decision must be communicated in writing within ten days to the complainant and with any other party that may be involved. |
| (4) | Where the Secretary or a head of a provincial secretariat has made a decision that the complaint should be pursued, he or she may appoint one or more member of the Civilian Secretariat or a provincial secretariat, as the case may be, to pursue the complaint. |
| (5) | Where a complaint is pursued, the police service must provide its full cooperation, assistance and support to the authorised member of the Civilian Secretariat or a provincial secretariat. |
| (6) | The findings and any recommendation relating to a pursued complaint may be communicated to the police and, where required, the police must give effect to such findings and any recommendations of the Civilian Secretariat or a provincial secretariat. |
| (7) | Where the police service refuses to implement a recommendation, the National Commissioner or Provincial Commissioner, as the case may be, must provide written reasons to the Secretary or the head of a provincial secretariat within ten days of receipt of the report and recommendations. |
| (8) | Where the Secretary or head of a provincial secretariat is not satisfied with the reasons, he or she may refer the report and recommendations to the Minister or MEC, as the case may be, to issue a directive to the police service. |
| (9) | The Secretary may, where he or she deems it necessary in the interests of a service delivery, proceed to resolve a complaint through an informal resolution or mediation process. |
| (10) | Where the informal resolution or mediation fails, the Secretary may refer the matter to the Minister for direction. |