DNA Delays Deny Survivors Justice

Statement by Ian Cameron MP – DA Deputy Spokesperson on Police:

The Democratic Alliance will request urgent answers from SAPS management following the latest DNA Board presentation, which revealed continued and serious underperformance in the processing of forensic DNA evidence.

This is not a technical problem hidden inside a laboratory. It is a justice-chain failure with direct consequences for rape survivors, victims of violent crime, detectives, prosecutors and communities.

A rape survivor can take every possible step after the crime, they can report the matter to SAPS, submit to the forensic process and work with investigators. Yet they may still be denied justice if SAPS cannot provide the basics: properly distributed rape kits and DB kits, functioning forensic laboratories, trained detectives and reliable turnaround times for DNA results.

According to the DNA Board’s 2024/25 presentation, the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory’s Biology Section completed 358 684 exhibits out of 502 407 registered exhibits. This amounts to a finalisation rate of 71.39%, against a target of 90%.

The detailed figures are even more concerning:

• Only 8.88% of routine case exhibits were finalised within 35 days, against a target of 75%.
• Only 35.98% of non-routine case exhibits were finalised within 113 days, against a target of 70%.
• Only 24.03% of DNA intelligence exhibits were finalised within 90 days, against a target of 80%.
• Of 64 650 buccal samples processed after registration, only 2 261 (3.5%) were completed within the prescribed 30-day timeframe.

The DNA Board further reported that DNA entries exceeding prescribed timelines rose to approximately 175 500 by the end of the reporting period.

Every delayed result may represent a delayed arrest, a weakened docket, a postponed prosecution or a victim left waiting for answers.

The DA’s recent oversight work has also identified serious concerns regarding the distribution of rape kits and DB kits. During an oversight visit to SAPS National Supply Chain Management yesterday, it became clear that the problem cannot simply be blamed on national procurement. National SCM indicated that stock is procured and supplied according to provincial orders.

This suggests that in at least some provinces, kits may be reaching provincial stores but are not being properly distributed to stations, FCS units and detectives. If so, the failure is not only procurement. It is also one of stock management, accountability and command.

The DA will request a focused national DNA backlog audit to establish the scale of the backlog, its causes, the impact on rape, GBV and violent-crime cases, and who is accountable for fixing it.

The DA will also request a credible turnaround plan from SAPS to reduce DNA backlogs, address equipment and infrastructure failures, fill critical forensic posts and improve coordination across the criminal justice system.

South Africa cannot claim to take GBV and sexual offences seriously while survivors are expected to rely on a forensic system that cannot meet its own targets.

Survivors deserve justice. Detectives deserve the tools to do their work. Communities deserve a criminal justice system that can identify offenders, build strong cases and secure convictions.