Article and photos by Kotie Geldenhuys
I have had a close relationship with the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Units of the SAPS for more than 20 years. This relationship dates to July 2002 when I published my first article about the FCS in cooperation with the then national head of the FCS, Brig (ret) Anneke Pienaar.
That was the start of an amazing journey with the FCS Units and their members. Throughout the years I have reported about their successes (and one stands amazed at what these units achieve), wrote in-depth articles along with the FCS members about sensitive topics such as incest, child pornography and rape and often gave them an ear to share their challenges and frustrations. Throughout the years, Servamus has been privileged to have interacted with many of the National Heads of the FCS such as Brig (ret) Anneke Pienaar, Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili (who was the National FCS Head between 2016 and 2018) and the late Maj-Gen Bafana Linda. They were always extremely proud of the FCS Units and willingly shared the successes achieved by these units. One of the last articles which I wrote to create awareness about the FCS units and their excellent work was with the late Maj-Gen Bafana Linda in 2019 when he told me:
"We do not work with fruit and vegetables - we work with people's lives. One mistake can cost a person's life. For FCS members their job is a calling. For me it is easy to encourage them to continue to give everything as they are already passionate about their job."
Since I have always admired the work and passion of FCS members and due to the good relationships I have had with these Units throughout the years, it was once again time to promote their work in this month's series on Careers in the Police, especially since Child Protection Week is held at the end of May.
The Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Units are recognised as one of the most successful units within the SAPS. These specialised units are dedicated to investigating and preventing crimes related to family violence, child protection and sexual offences. The history of these units dates to 1986 when the need to establish a specialised unit within the police to prevent and combat crimes against children, was identified.
The primary task of the Child Protection Unit, as it was originally known, was to render a sensitive service endearing to child victims. On 18 March 1995, these units were given a broader investigative mandate when the first Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit was launched and the first Unit opened its doors in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Soon more units were established and their successes were remarkable (Geldenhuys, 2002). But shockingly, in 2006, the former National Commissioner of the SAPS, the late Jackie Selebi, disbanded the FCS Units. However, on 1 April 2011, the FCS Units were reinstated nationally in accordance with a parliamentary promise made in 2010 by the then Minister of Police, Mr Nathi Mthethwa (News24, 2011). There are currently 176 FCS Units and nine Serial and Electronic Crime Investigation (SECI) Units nationwide.
The FCS environment comprises three sections namely:
- FCS Operations, which is headed by Brig Vivian Pudumo. (She was, at the time of going to print, the Acting Component Head of the FCS at SAPS National Head Office, following the passing of Maj-Gen Linda in December 2022.)
- Serial and Electronic Crime Investigation (SECI) Unit, which is headed by Col Celeste van der Klashorst. SECI is a provincial unit which mainly focuses on the investigation of serial rape as well as online child exploitation, which is a borderless crime. (The work of SECI will be discussed in more detail in a future edition of Servamus.)
- Forensic Social Work, which is headed by Brig L'Marie Strauss. The primary focus of forensic social workers in the FCS environment is to assist investigating officers with the investigation of child sexual abuse cases and to deliver expert testimony in a court of law. A small number of forensic social workers are operating from SAPS Head Office in Pretoria while the rest are stationed at different FCS Units across the country (Geldenhuys, 2021). (For more information about the Forensic Social Workers' role, mandate and cases, refer to an article published in Servamus: June 2021.)
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[This is only an extract of an article that is published in Servamus: May 2023. The rest of the article discusses the FCS’s mandate; the importance of specialised training, skills, passion and hard work; what to do if you want to join this event. If you are interested in reading more, send an e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or a WhatsApp to: 078 712 1745 to find out what you have to do. Ed.]