Scorpions: Problems 'inevitable'

2005-10-07 16:59

Pretoria - Problems between the Scorpions and police were among the inevitable challenges of managing a society's law enforcement, the Institute of Security Studies said on Friday.

In a submission to the Khampepe Commission, it said: "Relocating the directorate of special operations (DSO) into the police does not eliminate the problem, it simply shifts the responsibility for dealing with it."

The commission, headed by Judge Sisi Khampepe, entered its fifth day of public hearings into the future of the Scorpions, which operates as an elite crime-busting unit.

The Scorpions fall under the national prosecuting authority.

Proposals being considered at the commission are whether to disband the Scorpions, relocate them within the police, or change their mandate.

The initial reason for establishment of the Scorpions in 1999 was the concern that police could not adequately deal with complex forms of organised crime and corruption.

The 'crisp question' remains

Anthony Altbeker, for the ISS, said the argument of police weakness no longer justified organisational separation from the Scorpions.

Altbeker argued that it was crucial that capability to mount investigations into complex and sophisticated crimes be retained.

"The crisp question is whether this capability needs to exist separately from the police service."

One of the issues under discussion is the constitutional provision that there be only one prosecution authority in the country.

ISS contended the legal difficulty was not the most-serious problem. But it was undesirable to have prosecutors deciding whether or not to take a case to court answer to police officers, as this might undermine the prosecution's independence.

Altbeker said the context in which the Scorpions was created had changed because the police were not as hamstrung as they had been. However many of the reasons for establishing the elite crime-busting unit remained.

A challenge in merging the two bodies was that a policing agency was not a good home for a prosecutor, as both had separate cultures which were in their own way exclusive.

Altbeker admitted the situation was not optimal, and suggested mechanisms to foster inter-organisational co-operation.

He cautioned against repositioning the Scorpions simply because of the controversy that had broken out about some of its decisions: "Such controversy cannot be avoided."

New set of difficulties

Difficulties in incorporating the investigative body into the police could be foreseen both now and in the future and, even if this was a successful transplantation, a new set of difficulties could be expected to arise within that organisation.

Altbeker said that neither the present system, nor the incorporation of the Scorpions into the police, would be a perfect solution.

The commission was appointed by President Thabo Mbeki in March to advise him on the future of the Scorpions.

The hearings continue.

- SAPA