Criminal justice overhaul for SA
16 November 2007South Africa's criminal justice system is in for a series of far-reaching changes after the Cabinet last week approved a turnaround strategy that goes to the heart of the problems with the country's anti-crime methods and structures.
Speaking to reporters in Cape Town last week, Deputy Justice Minister Johnny de Lange underlined the radical scope of the recommended changes, saying specific details would be made public in President Thabo Mbeki's State of the Nation address in February.
It was no longer a case of "tinkering" with the system, De Lange said; the government was now looking at a fundamental transformation of the system as a whole, with "huge financial and organisational implications".
The overhaul plan plan came out of a review of SA's criminal justice system initiated by Mbeki's government-big business working group on crime.
The review, according to De Lange, identified as a major weakness the lack of coordination between the different players in the country's criminal justice system, particularly the SA Police Service, the National Prosecuting Authority and the departments of Justice and Correctional Services.
According to the Sunday Independent, the new plan, "influenced by a British review of that country's criminal justice system, intends to empower those at the coalface - with crime-battered citizens the ultimate winners.
"It aims for quick, equitable and fair criminal justice that has the confidence of the public and impacts massively on crime."
The fundamental changes envisaged in the plan centre around better coordination between departments, better planning, better resource management, better training and improved incentive schemes that reward expertise and experience.
While De Lange stressed that there would be no "super-ministry" to run the entire criminal justice system, he said a structure would be set up that encompassed all the elements of the multi-departmental criminal justice system, with an individual being appointed as a "champion" of better coordination among departments.
The aim, he said, would be to achieve "one vision, one mission" among all the departments involved in the criminal justice system.
Other recommendations involve the greater use of information and communication technology, such as the development of a single database for details of criminal suspects and prisoners. This would allow all departments, from police stations to courts to prisons, to trace a single case throughout the system.
Greater usage of technology - such as video-transmission technology - would also allow the country's courts to hear bail applications or to postpone cases without the suspects being present. This would improve the overall efficiency of the courts process, while reducing the risk of dangerous awaiting-trial prisoners escaping while being transported to and from the courts.
De Lange said the government was looking at implementing the occupation-specific dispensation salary schemes already being implemented by other departments, saying it was vital to retain the skills of experienced officers such as detectives.
Other proposed changes include strengthening community involvement in the fight against crime, with community policing forums to be given more resources - and possibly even the authority to demand crime reports from heads of local police stations.
Chief government spokesman Themba Maseko told reporters on Thursday that a task team made up of all the key role players would be set up immediately to start planning the implementation of the approved recommendations.
He said a report would be presented to the Cabinet in January and formally announced by Mbeki when he opened Parliament for the new year.
SAinfo reporter and BuaNews
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