The committee would receive a briefing from the Hawks on their recent arrests, for which they were commended by the committee, chairman Francois Beukman said in a statement.

The Hawks recently “achieved good successes with the arrests of terrorism suspects in Gauteng and various individuals linked to rhino horn poaching, as well as illegal firearm smugglers,” he said.

“The swift arrest of suspects involved in the Simon’s Town Naval Base arms cache break-in is an example of good police work that sets a good example for other police units.

“It is very important for the portfolio committee to ensure that the DPCI has the necessary resources and skilled personnel to help in achieving their main task of fighting organised crime. We cannot have a situation where the fight against organised crime is hampered by a lack of equipment and technological capability,” Beukman said.

The committee would also discuss progress made towards the establishment of a separate budget vote for the Hawks, the status of filling vacancies, and training in the DPCI. The committee had further noted concerns over recent reports regarding the physical state of the offices of the DPCI in various provinces. This would also be raised with the Hawks leadership at Tuesday’s meeting.

On Wednesday, the committee would be interrogating the SAPS management on their handling of the pre-election violent protests as witnessed in Tshwane in Gauteng and Vuwani in Limpopo, as well as the handling of the killings in KwaZulu-Natal during the pre-election period.

Beukman said it was “imperative for the committee to receive a comprehensive briefing on the performance of SAPS in the pre-election and election period to ascertain lessons learnt with respect to the deployment of resources for these activities”.

“It will be important for the committee to ascertain the effectiveness of the crime intelligence division in the period leading up to the violent protests and the proactive steps taken by SAPS management to anticipate and minimise disruptive action in hotspots around the country.”

Beukman expressed serious concerns about the loss of life that occurred in the run-up to the August 3 local government elections, especially the killing of councillor candidates in KwaZulu-Natal.

The committee would also demand clarity on the reaction time by some police stations and responsible units in responding to incidents that caused damage to state property and infrastructure.

The committee wanted an update on progress in the criminal investigations flowing from the incidents that occurred during the election period.

“We welcome the fact that a special SAPS task team was appointed to investigate the murders and the recent announcement of arrests of suspects in some of the cases, and we look forward to getting an update in this regard,” Beukman said.

ANA