CAPE TOWN (AFP) – The backlog in forensics tests in crime-wracked South Africa has doubled, creating a “crisis” for police investigations, the main opposition said Monday.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said that Safety Minister Nathi Mthetwa has reported to the party that the backlog in forensics has jumped from 6,068 untested samples in June 2007 to 11,758 in January this year.
The number of lost or stolen dockets also increased from 382 in 2005 to 668 in 2008, it said.
“The South African Police Service (SAPS) is in the grips of a major crisis, with key data showing spiraling increases in lost dockets, forensic science backlogs, and the use of private security firms,” said DA spokeswoman on security, Dianne Kohler-Barnard.
“Ongoing backlogs in our Forensic Science Laboratories continue to place severe strain on police investigations and delay court cases, and thus constitute one of the most serious impediments to a properly functioning justice system,” she said.
She said the party believes the problem is even worse than the minister indicated.
“Information has been made available to the DA that suggests that the total number of sample backlogs is roughly double what the minister stated in his reply to our parliamentary question,” she said.
South Africa has one of the world's worst crime rates with housebreaking, hijacking and cash heists often accompanied by high rates of murder, torture and violence.
Government is considering a complete overhaul of the struggling criminal justice system to better deal with the massive crime problem.
The country is desperate to clean up its image ahead of the football World Cup in 2010.
Deputy Justice Minister Johnny de Lange said last year that half of all violent crime scenes were not visited by a forensic investigator.