2005-10-10,+Knives+are+out+for+the+Scorpions,+Sunday+Independent

= **Knives are out for the Scorpions** =

== Elite crime-busters under fire as investigative agencies call for the unit to be merged with the SAPS =


 * Sunday Independent, Johannesburg, front page splash, October 9, 2005

By Caroline Hooper-Box and Chiara Carter**

The Scorpions have their backs to the wall as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is poised to make its presentation tomorrow to the Khampepe commission of inquiry into the future of the elite crime-fighting unit.

This week the country's other leading domestic investigative agencies told the commission in Pretoria, headed by Judge Sisi Khampepe, that the unit should be amalgamated into the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The Scorpions - officially titled the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO) - were set up in 1999 as an elite crime-busting unit that falls under the ambit of the ministry of justice.

Brigitte Mabandla, the minister of justice, in her submission, delivered by Dabi Khumalo, an advocate, said South Africa no longer faced the same crime threat that it did at the time the Scorpions were set up.

Mabandla's submission stated that there were a number of indicators that "show how far, as a country, we have moved from 1994".

They were, first, that South Africa now enjoyed a stable economy; second, that the tourism industry had enjoyed phenomenal growth; and, third, that South Africa had successfully hosted a number of international conferences.

"With all of these activities, there were little or no major incidences," her submission read. "This showed a high level of confidence and trust that the international community has in the security services of the republic."

She said that there had been "a real decline in the level of some of the serious crimes that have caused public fear and anxiety...

"It is my submission that the threat from serious crimes, whilst still requiring attention, has significantly diminished to the extent that it is now opportune to reconsider the location of the DSO."

The options offered for the Scorpions' future include disbanding the unit, relocating it into the SAPS, or changing its mandate.

The Foundation for Human Rights (whose executive director is Yasmin Sooka, the former Truth and Reconciliation Commission commissioner, and whose board of directors includes Jody Kollapen, the Human Rights Commission chairperson) said that it was surprised at the minister's suggestion that the location of the Scorpions be reconsidered due to a diminished crime threat.

Howard Varney, the foundation's advocate, told the commission that there was no cause for scaling back crime-combating efforts.

"This would be premature to say the least and most South Africans would be dumfounded by such a prospect," he said. "Close to 19 000 murders were committed in South Africa last year and most South Africans still feel insecure and fearful."

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said that the Scorpion's approach - which involves detectives, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants and prosecutors - was "essential when the target of an investigation is an organised crime syndicate, the nature of the crimes committed are sophisticated and legally complex, and if those targeted have sufficient resources to mount a sustained legal defence".

Antony Altbeker, who presented the ISS submission, said that many of the reasons for locating the Scorpions "beyond the organisational walls of the police service" remained.

The nature of the DSO's mandate virtually guaranteed conflict between itself and the SAPS, he said, "because the jurisdictional rules it creates do not delineate a set of cases that are the exclusive preserve of either body".

However, the commission should not seek to overturn a workable system in the hope of perfecting it, he said. "Many of the problems that may appear to have arisen out of the separation of the DSO from the SAPS are, in fact, inherent to the challenge of managing a society's law-enforcement machinery."

Menzi Simelane, the justice director-general, said this weekend that the minister was not saying the Scorpions must go nor was she suggesting where they should be placed.

He said the minister had outlined the challenges facing the DSO. These included the lack of mutual trust between the Scorpions and police and her concern, shared by the department, that this could undermine the government's objective to fight crime.

Billy Masetlha, the director of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), this weekend issued a statement clarifying that the NIA favoured the Scorpions being relocated to the SAPS.

Masetlha said the NIA submission to the commission, presented by George Bizos SC, was "misinterpreted by some media".

He said the NIA had strongly argued for "oversight and control over the activities of the DSO" and that the agency thought that this "can only be fully exercised through the DSO's relocation to the SAPS".

The NPA is due to present a defence to the commission tomorrow on the reasons necessitating the Scorpion's survival.

From: http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=2938366