NORTH WEST — A recent investigation has confirmed that North West police and correctional facilities fail compliance audit standards, according to a damning new report released by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). The findings expose widespread non-compliance by the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Department of Correctional Services, and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure regarding the condition of their provincial facilities.
Following a comprehensive investigation conducted between 2023 and 2025, the commission evaluated the state of law enforcement and detention infrastructure across the province. The report revealed that out of 86 police stations in the North West, 66 are not compliant with the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Critical deficiencies include severe staff and vehicle shortages, a lack of CCTV cameras, missing ablution facilities in cells, overcrowding, and inadequate detainee care.
The systemic failures also extend to the province’s correctional centers. The audit identified approximately 10 correctional facilities lacking basic maternity facilities, regular fire drills, and adequate food supplies. Alarmingly, these facilities also fail to properly separate detainees with mental illnesses from the general population.
Sherley Mlombo, SAHRC Manager, emphasized that these deficiencies are not isolated incidents. “As we were doing that monitoring work, we kept picking up the same issues in those facilities,” Mlombo stated. “Issues relating to infrastructure, overcrowding, vehicle shortages, and staffing shortages. As we kept picking up the same issues in various stations, we realized that the issues are not isolated, but there are systemic issues there which warranted that the issue then be looked at and investigated by the South African Human Rights Commission at a systemic level.”
Unions representing law enforcement and correctional facility workers argue that these critical matters have been repeatedly reported to authorities, only to fall on deaf ears. Tlou Mpherwane, North West SAPU Secretary, warned that substandard facilities should be shut down to force government action.
“If they see that the facilities are not in a good standard, it should be closed,” Mpherwane said. “We send a message to the government to say, look, take people seriously. Once you close the facilities, that’s when this is the language that they can understand. That is not the way we want to go, but that is the only option that is left on the table now.”
Echoing these concerns, Johannest Dire, North West POPCRU Secretary, highlighted the administrative gridlock exacerbating the crisis. “We will continue to make a clarion call for the correct framework in terms of responsibilities and functions of the department with the supply chain,” Dire explained. He noted that the disenfranchisement of functions within the criminal justice cluster poses a “very serious threat to the functioning and capacity of the department,” particularly regarding the maintenance of buildings belonging to both Correctional Services and SAPS.
In response to the findings, law enforcement officials indicate they are reviewing the documentation. Adele Myburgh, Police Spokesperson, confirmed that the South African Police Service in the North West received the Human Rights Commission report on their detention facilities. “We are currently studying the report and coming up with remedial actions,” Myburgh stated.
The SAHRC has mandated strict timeframes for the affected departments to rectify the identified violations. Mlombo clarified that while some issues require immediate attention, others have been granted a 90-day window, and more complex infrastructural problems must be addressed within 24 months.
“As they are addressing these issues, they must engage with the Department of Public Works, but they must also be mindful that they are the ultimate duty bearers,” Mlombo added. She stressed that if the Department of Public Works fails in its duties, the primary departments must do everything in their power to correct the issues and can subsequently take steps against Public Works for those failings.
At the time of publication, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure had not responded to media inquiries regarding the audit’s findings or the mandated remedial actions.
