Through the Octopus Project, the Council of Europe provided support to the South African Police Service in the preparation of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for collecting and handling digital evidence which is required by the recently adopted Cybercrime Act. The SOPs were drafted within the framework of the EU-SA Dialogue Facility Project by considering the guides and tools developed by the Council of Europe as well as the domestic legislation and practices on e-evidence.

On the 8th of November 2021 a workshop was held aiming to discuss with the South African Police Service the findings of the assessment conducted on the draft SOPs as well as the gaps identified and the recommendations on the structure and content of the document.

The participants also had the opportunity to provide their inputs on the recommendations and actively engaged in discussion, concluding to further develop the SOPs as to reach a harmonised approach and a final document agreed with other South African agencies concerned.

South African Police Service will also consider the extent of further support in this process to be provided by the Council of Europe, the Octopus Project, as to complete the SOPs in line with the international standards and best practices and guide the practitioners on the process of handling e-evidence.

 Octopus Project webpage

 Octopus Cybercrime Platform resources (SOPs available upon request)

 SAEU Strategic Partnership – The Dialogue Facility website