Burdened detectives battle mounting caseloads

The police detectives in George are carrying staggering caseloads, with figures showing individual officers handling anywhere between 20 and nearly 400 dockets each.

- Kristy Kolberg

These figures lay bare the strain on local investigators who are expected to deliver justice while carrying increasingly heavy caseloads. The numbers reflect the variety of crimes they investigate, from the most dockets belonging to serious and violent offences to economic crimes, robbery, fraud, assault, family violence, gender-based violence, inquests and drunk driving.

Among the local detectives, several have between 250 and 300 dockets to deal with, while others have between 170 and 230 cases. Even at the so-called 'lighter' end of the scale, officers are still juggling between nearly a hundred dockets at a time. For those dealing with inquests (unexplained or unnatural deaths), the picture is just as bleak, with more than 180 inquest files stacked on desks alongside active criminal investigations.

With some detectives managing upward of 200 dockets on their own, it becomes clear why backlogs are growing and why there is immense pressure on the system.