Verbatim text
national policing policy after consulting the provincial governments and taking
into account the policing needs and priorities of the provinces as determined by the
provincial executives.
(2) The national policing policy may make provision for different policies in respect of
different provinces after taking into account the policing needs and priorities of
these provinces.
(3) Each province is entitled—
(a) to monitor police conduct;
(b) to oversee the effectiveness and efficiency of the police service, including
receiving reports on the police service;
(c) to promote good relations between the police and the community;
(d) to assess the effectiveness of visible policing; and
(e) to liaise with the Cabinet member responsible for policing with respect to
crime and policing in the province.
(4) A provincial executive is responsible for policing functions—
(a) vested in it by this Chapter;
(b) assigned to it in terms of national legislation; and
(c) allocated to it in the national policing policy.
(5) In order to perform the functions set out in subsection (3), a province—
(a) may investigate, or appoint a commission of inquiry into, any complaints of
police inefficiency or a breakdown in relations between the police and any
community; and
(b) must make recommendations to the Cabinet member responsible for policing.
(6) On receipt of a complaint lodged by a provincial executive, an independent police
complaints body established by national legislation must investigate any alleged
misconduct of, or offence committed by, a member of the police service in the
province.
(7) National legislation must provide a framework for the establishment, powers,
functions and control of municipal police services.
(8) A committee composed of the Cabinet member and the members of the Executive
Councils responsible for policing must be established to ensure effective co-
ordination of the police service and effective co-operation among the spheres of
government. Chapter 11: Security Services
(9) A provincial legislature may require the provincial commissioner of the province to
appear before it or any of its committees to answer questions.
Control of police service
What this means
- The index files this text under article 206 of the Constitution of South Africa.
- The index files it under the chapter heading “CHAPTER 11 — SECURITY SERVICES”.
- The passage runs to about 335 words.
- Read plainly, it mentions police powers — it sets out what the police or other security services may do (the words used: “police”).
The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“(1) A member of the Cabinet must be responsible for policing and must determine”), so it is not used as the provision’s title here.
The index gives this passage an article number but stores a body fragment where a heading would be, so the number could not be cross-checked against the text. Check it against the official Constitution before relying on it in a citation.
This is a mechanical reading aid generated from the text above by matching words in it. It is not legal advice, not a lawyer’s interpretation, and not a substitute for the provision itself.
How to cite this
Constitution of South Africa, article 206, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/b907ac2b-a303-4809-a882-a6e1bfc038c8 (accessed 25 October 2026).
Canonical URL: https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/b907ac2b-a303-4809-a882-a6e1bfc038c8
Accessed 25 October 2026.
Link to the canonical URL above, not to a #section-… fragment on the jurisdiction page — the fragment is a scroll position, this URL is the provision.
Machine-readable versions