The ministry of police cannot say how many cases the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act (RICA) has helped.
However, it does say the regulation is of assistance at many different levels of the SA Police Services.
Responding to a question at the National Council of Provinces, police minister Nathi Mthethwa said largely, RICA assists as part of investigations and tracing suspects in related matters.
“Primarily crime intelligence and the detectives make use of this information.”
The question from the Democratic Alliance enquired about the reliability of RICA in fighting crime, the successes so far to trace criminals, and the number of criminals arrested from 1 July 2011 to 31 May 2012 through RICAed subscriber identity module (SIM) cards.
“To provide a concrete answer to the question, the department would have to go through dockets of different cases and case files, and this would be a highly labour-intensive exercise and therefore it is not possible to provide the honourable member with an exact answer regarding the this matter,” said Mthethwa.
He adds that RICA remains an important means of information that enables better crime intelligence and detective services, and as such, is considered part of enabling mechanisms to fight crime.
RICA pains
RICA was brought into effect in the middle of 2009, although government passed it as far back as 2003. Essentially, the Act aimed to track down criminals who may have used cellphones in the execution of their crimes.
Under the law, everyone with a SIM card had to provide proof of address and identity, or they would be cut off from their respective networks.
However, just days after the deadline, ITWeb reported that pre-RICAed SIM cards were available to purchase in outlets for around R20. ITWeb also revealed that a fraudster had taken out a contract in someone else's name, despite the law being in effect.
Since then, further reports have emerged that SIM cards are either on sale with RICA already built in, or are easily obtainable - without the buyer presenting the requisite documents. In June, ITWeb was able to purchase a SIM card and have it RICAed in the space of about five minutes, without having presented any physical form of identification.
Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, says most people are not too phased with the concept or process of RICA. “After the birth pains of RICA, we've entered a phase of its life that you might call carefree childhood. No one pays attention to it, and when people are even aware that it's around, it's treated as a nuisance.”
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