IPID’s cover-up of police brutality in SA
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Viewfinder launched in October 2019 with the first exposé in a serialized investigation titled Killing the Files.
This investigation was rooted in our exclusive access to a government database containing tens of thousands of criminal complaints against the police, as well as to whistleblowers within the country’s police watchdog, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID). It exposed widespread fraud in IPID’s handling of police brutality cases in South Africa.
Under pressure to meet performance targets, the investigation found, IPID case workers and managers closed such cases prematurely — in some instances without investigating them at all. The result was a systemic obstruction of justice for thousands of victims of police brutality. Suspects within the police — accused of crimes such as torture, murder, and rape — also escaped accountability.
Read the exposé which launched the project here.
This project was shortlisted for the Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Journalism (2020) and won the Gatefield Africa People Journalist of the Year Award (2021).
Read this story on Viewfinder, or GroundUp, or Daily Maverick.
Despite mounting evidence of IPID’s case manipulation, Parliament’s Joemat-Pettersson refuses to act, ignoring Auditor-General warnings and whistleblower revelations. Read this story on Viewfinder or , GroundUp .
Month-end at the IPID is reportedly a time when investigative files are mysteriously closed or abandoned to inflate performance, raising questions about the agency’s effectiveness. Read this story on Viewfinder, or GroundUp, or Daily Maverick.
The IPID is working to manage the fallout from Viewfinder's recent findings of statistical manipulation. This, ahead of an appearance before Parliament. Read this story on Viewfinder or GroundUp or Daily Maverick.
A report by South Africa’s police watchdog, investigating allegations of statistical manipulation, is expected to be released next week, following Viewfinder's exposé. Read this story on Viewfinder or GroundUp or Daily Maverick.
Viewfinder responds to Robert McBride’s criticism of our exposé on IPID. He did not point to a single factual error in our report. Read this story on Viewfinder or GroundUp .
Annelize van Wyk was one of the Parliament's longest serving Police Portfolio Committee members. At a roundtable discussion of Viewfinder's findings on
MoreA new category for closing cases at IPID - "special closure" - raises a redflag over the tenure of Robert McBride at IPID. Read this story on Viewfinder, or GroundUp, or Daily Maverick.
Despite mounting evidence of IPID’s case manipulation, Parliament’s Joemat-Pettersson refuses to act, ignoring Auditor-General warnings and whistleblower revelations. Read this story on Viewfinder or , GroundUp .
A new expert report urges IPID to prioritize investigations into the most violent police officers to combat rampant abuse and criminal activity within SAPS. Read this story on Viewfinder, or GroundUp, or News24.
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