- The South African Police Service is reportedly preparing to launch an operation to monitor social media platforms on the back of the July 2021 Unrest.
- However, some in the police allege that the operation is simply a means to keep certain employees on the payroll.
- There are several operations in the SAPS that already monitor social media.
Special members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) are preparing to engage on a monitoring operations across social media platforms and their local users, including Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube and WhatsApp among others.
According to a report from the Sunday World, the SAPS Crime Intelligence Division will be in charge of these “covert” operations. We’re not sure how covert it is seeing as we all know about it right now, but supposedly it is being started to stop incidents like the 2021 July Unrest, where over 350 lost their lives, from ever happening again.
The South African Human Rights Commission says that online communication and social media were a key factor in the country-wide destruction that fateful month. However, the police’s covert social media operations may already not be up to scruff.
Insiders at SAPS told the Sunday World that instead of being a real operation to counteract any future unrest, it is instead a method to get employees of the former Police Minister Bheki Cele to remain on the force, something that goes against the directive of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA).
“There is already a section within crime intelligence that deals with social media monitoring, specifically under the intelligence collection in commercial crimes division, as well as in the analysis and coordination divisions,” says an apparent “mole” at SAPS, cited by the publication.
“Cele just wants employment for his people.”
One reason that detractors inside SAPS have for this plan is that social media intelligence operations require technologically skilled and experienced investigators, which the apparent incoming investigators won’t be.
“We have two units already doing this kind of work. We have a section called Commercial, Financial and Cyber Unit – under this section, there’s a cyber crime subsection,” said another insider.
“We also have the intelligence analysis and coordination unit, which monitors social media as part of its daily duties.”
Indeed, during election season earlier this year, the police’s cybercrime unit was already monitoring social media and other online outlets, at least according to SAPS Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikil.
“We will not tolerate any incitement of violence on any platforms. Our intelligence communities and cybercrime units are closely monitoring online users,” she said in May.
“Parliament has not approved this new unit, nor is it part of the SAPS structures. It is just a job-creating scheme for some people,” the insider alleged. A police spokesperson told the publication that there are indeed lateral appointments being made in the service.
