Durban - Independent Police Investigative Directorate Executive Director, Jennifer Ntlatseng, is expected to meet with the family of 9-year-old Leo Williams, who was shot in the head during a protest in Laingville in St Helena Bay. It is alleged that police fired rubber bullets to disperse a crowd and Leo had been struck in the head by a rubber bullet. The youngster succumbed to his wounds at the Red Cross Hospital.
Ipid spokesperson, Ndileka Cola, said Ntlatseng will visit the Williams family on Thursday, as part of a Western Cape outreach operation
She said the outreach plan seeks to provide strategic direction to the province based on teams on the vision, mitigating strategies on challenges that are currently encountered by various provinces in the quest of policing the police and ensuring that justice is served for victims and their families.
"Various policy interventions for the next five years that will enhance and fast track cases that the Ipid is dealing with, have been identified," Cola said.
She said these strategies include engaging communities on issues related to safety to ensure that people know about the services of Ipid, empower communities on reporting procedures, violence prevention, community safety forums as well as working together with local government structures to enhance community participation to enhance rural safety strategy.
"The Directorate is also in the process of strengthening stakeholder engagements with various strategic stakeholders like APCOF, NPA, Focus Groups Organisations and NGOs to ensure the integration of strategies in the fight against any form of misconduct within police services," she said.
Cola said the strategy also looks at gender-based violence matters and will seek to prioritise cases of rape in police custody, rape by police officers, provide the necessary support to victims and referrals without compromising the objectivity of the entire investigation process.
"The Directorate will continue to recruit the female investigators to make the environment conducive and the victims are comfortable for example on medical examinations.
Ipid is currently in consultation with Telkom to establish the best possible solution for a 24-hour toll free number that will respond to Ipid case reporting needs in comprehensive.
The process of the Ipid Act Amendment Bill Amendment is currently underway to address various identified shortcomings in the Act that restrict Ipid in attaining it’s legislative mandate," she said.
Cola said the Amendment Bill seeks to expand the Ipid mandate to include amongst other functions oversight of the provincial Traffic, Road Traffic Management Corporation, Western Cape law enforcement officials and regional municipal police.
IOL