The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday called for a comprehensive turnaround strategy to capacitate the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) with permanent staff and modern investigative tools.

The party expressed concerns that currently 14 907 cases remain outstanding for investigation by the IPID across the country.

DA deputy spokesperson on Police Lisa Schickerling said in reply to a DA Parliamentary question, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu disclosed that KwaZulu-Natal had 4 135 outstanding investigation cases; Gauteng 3 492; Western Cape 2 505; Eastern Cape 2 167 and Mpumalanga had 1 151.

Schickerling noted that these cases included some of the most serious allegations ranging from deaths in police custody to rape, which she said had now been caught in a growing backlog that “threatens” both justice and accountability.

“This backlog not only undermines public confidence in law enforcement but also leaves victims and their families without justice – in some cases, for years on end.

“Equally troubling is the fact that IPID staff are working around the clock, often under immense pressure and without the support or resources they need to properly investigate serious complaints. This broken system is unsustainable and risks further erosion of oversight, justice, and institutional integrity,” she explained.

She highlighted that while the DA noted IPID’s attempt to address the backlog by enlisting the support of six retired detectives in high-volume provinces, she said this ad hoc intervention was simply not enough.

The party said it was deeply worrying that IPID remained “under resourced, understaffed and lacking” the investigative capacity to fulfil its constitutional mandate of holding the South African Police Service (Saps) accountable.

“…equally concerning is the confirmation that Saps has not implemented any measures to assist with the backlog due to IPID’s oversight role.

“This hands-off approach, while necessary for independence, must be matched by meaningful support from the Department of Police and Parliament to ensure IPID is adequately funded and capacitated,” said Schickerling.

With this, the DA called for a quarterly parliamentary progress report on backlog reduction and a public release of backlog data, including the duration of unresolved cases, to ensure transparency and accountability.

Schickerling said South Africans deserved a police watchdog that worked, one that was “independent, well-resourced and capable” of acting swiftly and decisively against police abuse and corruption.