SAPS criticised over body camera rollout delays
South Africa’s plan to introduce body-worn cameras for police officers has fallen a full year behind schedule, drawing sharp criticism from the (DA, which says the delay is undermining accountability in law enforcement.
DA Member of Parliament Mzamo Billy said the South African Police Service (SAPS) had originally committed to rolling out the technology by April 2025.
“A year later, this deadline has passed without implementation or explanation,” Billy said, placing responsibility on Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia.
Billy argued that the absence of body-worn cameras continues to weaken oversight mechanisms within policing. “Without objective, real-time evidence, investigations are weakened, cases collapse, and prosecutions fail,” he said. “This not only prevents justice where wrongdoing has occurred, but also leaves honest police officers exposed to false allegations.”
Billy said their concerns are backed by parliamentary data, which is described as evidence of a widening accountability gap. According to replies to questions submitted in the National Council of Provinces, nearly 1,000 suspects have been killed during police operations over the past two years.
In the same period, only 145 convictions were secured following investigations by the South African Police Service, while more than 3,800 cases were referred to the National Prosecuting Authority, many of which were either declined or remain unresolved.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of fatalities, with 296 suspects killed, but only nine convictions secured. The Eastern Cape and Gauteng show similar patterns, which Billy said point to a “national crisis of accountability”.
At the same time, the risks faced by police officers remain high. Thirty-one officers have been killed in the line of duty, often during routine operations such as responding to complaints or conducting patrols. Billy said this reinforces the need for systems that both protect officers and ensure transparency.
“Body-worn cameras are essential to provide credible, real-time evidence in police operations, strengthen investigations, protect officers against false claims, and restore public confidence in policing,” he said.
The DA contrasted SAPS’s delays with progress at municipal level. In the City of Cape Town, authorities have already begun a second phase rollout of body cameras for Metro Police. An initial deployment saw 1,250 shared devices introduced across the Safety and Security Directorate, with a further 1,000 cameras now being rolled out.
Billy said the DA has secured agreement from Parliament’s Select Committee on Security and Justice to convene a joint briefing involving SAPS, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, and the National Prosecuting Authority. The session is expected to focus on the missed deadline and broader failures highlighted in parliamentary replies.
“The DA will use this platform to demand clear timelines, accountability for the delay, and urgent implementation of body-worn cameras,” Billy said, adding that the party would continue to push for reforms aimed at building “a professional, accountable and effective police service that protects both citizens and officers.”
In January, Billy wrote to the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Select Committee on Security and Justice, Jane Mananiso, demanding that Minister Cachalia be urgently summoned to account for the failure to implement police body-worn cameras, as promised to Parliament.
This followed a series of fatal SAPS operations in KwaZulu-Natal. At the time, Billy had said Parliament was assured that the rollout of body-worn cameras would commence from April 2025.
“That deadline has passed, yet no meaningful update has been provided to Parliament or the public. This failure undermines public trust, weakens oversight, and leaves both police officers and civilians exposed,” Billy said in January.
However, Cachalia two weeks ago said SAPS is set to begin the first phase of its long-awaited body-worn cameras rollout, nearly a decade after the initiative was proposed in 2019. He said the procurement process is currently at the contracting stage, with an estimated cost of R14 million, expected to commence in the new financial year starting in April.
Cachalia was asked by DA MP Ian Cameron about the number of body-worn and in-vehicle dash cameras that have been procured by the SAPS for use in the Western Cape.
Cameron also wanted to know whether the body-worn cameras had been deployed and were currently operational.
In response, Cachalia confirmed that there has been no procurement of body‑worn cameras or in‑vehicle dash cameras for use in the Western Cape.
“The procurement of body-worn cameras has not yet been finalised, as the process remains in the contracting phase,” he said.
