SANDF Deployment Must Be Measurable, Time-Bound and Strengthen SAPS

Statement by Lisa Schickerling MP – DA Spokesperson on Police:

Today’s briefing by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to the Portfolio Committee on Police does not answer several critical questions about the deployment of the SANDF in support of SAPS to combat organised crime, gangsterism and illicit mining.

While the Democratic Alliance (DA) supports decisive action against organised criminal networks that threaten community safety and economic stability, military deployment in civilian policing must remain a short-term, clearly defined intervention not a substitute for fixing SAPS.

Past experience of SANDF deployments has shown that military support alone does not resolve the underlying drivers of organised crime.

The DA’s assessment of today’s briefing suggests that these risks remain unless the deployment is clearly structured around strengthening SAPS operations.

For this reason, the DA believes the following markers must define a successful short-term SANDF deployment:

• Measurable operational objectives, including baseline crime data and clear reduction targets in priority crimes such as organised extortion, gangsterism and illicit mining.
• Operational integration with SAPS intelligence and detective units, ensuring operations are intelligence-led and prosecution-driven rather than focused solely on visible patrols or arrest statistics.
• A clearly defined and publicly communicated time frame, with an explicit exit strategy linked to operational milestones.
• Tangible strengthening of SAPS capacity, particularly in Crime Intelligence, detective services and specialised investigative units, so that SAPS can sustain gains once SANDF withdraws.

More boots on the ground do not automatically translate into dismantling criminal networks. The true measure of success will be whether organised crime syndicates are disrupted, prosecuted and prevented from re-establishing themselves once the military deployment ends.

During the briefing, officials failed to answer key questions from Members of Parliament and contradicted themselves by first stating that SANDF training for the deployment had already taken place, and later indicating under questioning that the training was still ongoing.

This moment must also reignite the discussion around expanding policing powers to capable provinces. Where provincial governments such as the Western Cape Government and City of Cape Town have demonstrated administrative capacity and political will to enhance community safety, greater devolution of certain policing functions should be considered within constitutional parameters to improve responsiveness and accountability.

Most importantly, this deployment must be used as a window to repair structural weaknesses within SAPS, particularly in Crime Intelligence and detective capacity. If those reforms are not implemented during this period, South Africa risks normalising military support for routine policing.

The DA will continue to exercise robust oversight to ensure that this deployment strengthens, rather than substitutes, civilian policing.