Improvement of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) Work Group

[Last Updated : 22 March 2009]

Backround to the CJS

A task team consisting of Government and business professionals developed the National Crime Prevention Strategy soon after the formation of BACSA in 1996. One of the pillars upon which the strategy was built was an efficient and effective Criminal Justice System (CJS).

A project team spearheaded by BACSA was formed in the latter part of 1996 and commenced in-depth studies into the CJS, focussing mainly on blockages, enablers and inhibitors. Cabinet, at the time, after studying the outcome of a full-scale process and information review, accepted recommendations aimed at transforming the CJS and commenced with the implementation of various recommendations aimed at improved integration and the utilisation of technology. One of the critical recommendations was the provision of an Automated Fingerprint Information System (AFIS), as well as the integration of information and processes across the different entities spanning the Criminal Justice System.

The activities during the period between 1996 and the early 2000s have provided a solid technology base for the efficiency of the CJS. These activities were further enriched by several cross-cutting CJS working committees that still function. In particular, the manual fingerprint records system, which filled a building the size of a rugby field, was replaced by a state-of-the-art technology-driven system.

This change has significantly impacted the effectiveness of the overall performance of the CJS. The new system allows for the automated recognition of fingerprints and searches, against a database of approximately 5-million records, of even the smallest of latent fingerprints left at a crime scene. This development within the CJS has improved turnaround times and prevented unnecessary delays, particularly as the earlier system was manual.

The CJS Review and the Seven-Point Plan

A further review of the Criminal Justice System was initiated by the Anti-Crime Leadership Forum (ACLF) and recommendations by the responsible working group were based upon focused consultations and detailed analyses of processes, volumes, capacities, data and systems at a high level. Analyses were undertaken with the objective of gaining a deeper appreciation of the full environment in which the overall CJS operates. The recommendations were packaged into a Seven-Point Plan. These were approved by the Cabinet on 7 November 2007. 

The Seven-Point Plan places an emphasis on the fact that the different entities that comprise the CJS cannot exist in isolation. They represent a complex interaction between constantly changing variables. It also focuses attention on a vast number of criminal cases that are never adjudicated, as well as those which are recycled between functionaries and which result in multiple trial postponements. Ultimately, with long periods between hearings, these cases are eventually withdrawn by frustrated and disillusioned victims and witnesses who have experienced the short-end of a system fraught with administrative backlogs and inefficiency

What is the Scope of the Seven-Point Plan?

The Seven-Point Plan consists of a package of interventions that will be implemented in an integrated and holistic manner to achieve a new dynamic and co-ordinated Criminal Justice System. It consists of the following interventions:

• A single Vision and Mission for the CJS cluster leading to a single set of objectives, priorities and performance measurement targets across all departments that span the CJS.
• A new and realigned single CJS co-ordinating and management structure that flows in a seamless manner from the Cabinet to each court, and a person appointed from the Executive as Head of the CJS structure with co-ordination and management functions, not executive powers.
• Practical, short- and medium-term proposals to improve the performance of the courts, initially focusing on Regional Courts and court work on trials and ancillary proceedings such as bail, as well as removing some of the administrative-like functions that relate to postponements.
• Improvement of key areas within the CJS that contribute negatively to overall systems performance with measures to correct shortcomings and remove constraints, inhibitors and dependencies.
• An integrated and seamless National CJS Information System that will facilitate more informed strategies, plans and decision-making. A CJS modernisation programme that will facilitate the management of day-to-day operations, reduce costs and eliminate waste. 
• Involvement of the population at large in the fight against crime through Community Safety Forum (CSF) structures and an expanded role.

The CJS Seven-Point-Plan with its objectives and desired outcomes highlights Government’s expectations, resolve and sense of urgency to improve the CJS and reinforces the need for a cross-functional co-ordinating structure that is empowered to direct the alignment of strategy, structures, resources (human and other) and co-ordinate operational excellence. 

The former President Mbeki, in May 2008, appointed the Deputy Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ and CD), Advocate Johnny de Lange, to co-ordinate Government’s CJS activities. The Terms of Reference (TORS) were approved on 5 June 2008.

The Approach and Actions Planned for Completion by mid-2009

The CJS TORS comprise immediate, short- and medium-term interventions that will run concurrently. These initiatives have been carefully selected to form the foundation of the future CJS and act as a precursor to the enormous task of systematically rolling-out aligned and improved CJS structures, systems and technologies country-wide.

The interventions have been grouped into:

• Strategic interventions; and
• Early operational interventions.

Tasks to be completed by mid-2009:

1. Establish an Office for Criminal Justice System Reform (OCJSR).
2. Develop an overarching Vision and Mission for the CJS as a whole.
3. Establish a CJS Co-ordinating and Management Structure for the CJS at national, provincial and local levels.
4. Establish a CJS Advisory Structure that comprises the highest level of Government Officials. 
5. Establish a permanent CJS Strategy Team comprising Director-Generals or Heads of Agencies. 
6. Establish a National CJS Operational Structure, including a National CJS Operations Centre.
7. Implement an aligned CJS Footprint to overcome overlaps and inefficiencies, the result of non-aligned, disparate and department-specific jurisdictional boundaries.
8. Establish a mechanism for reviewing and removing inhibiting legislation and identify and create new legislation, where necessary.
9. Develop and establish a CJS Statistics and Performance Management Centre underpinned by a national CJS database and integrated, seamless, core IT systems and infrastructure.  
10. Align objectives, priorities and the execution capacity and capabilities of individual departments and/or agencies, through appropriate legislative frameworks and mandates.  
11. Compile and publish a CJS Business Plan, including the aims, objectives, performance targets and measurements for the CJS, as a whole.
12. Develop and implement a three-year action plan, flowing from the CJS Business Plan, with published actions and timelines and formal annual reports.

Throughput Within the CJS:

The wheels of the Criminal Justice System are put in motion with the reporting of a crime to the police and the dispatch of a police officer to a crimes scene.
The case is then handed over to the detective services branch that is charged with investigating the crime and bringing the offenders to book. The branch is supported by crime scene detectives and forensic analysts. Together they perform a crucial function within the CJS, as everything that follows depends upon the outcome of their work.  
Within the system, much reliance is placed on the quality of evidence and convictions are more easily obtained when offenders are positively linked to crime scenes by means of forensic evidence.
As a result, an improved Criminal Justice System will rely on improvements in the following component parts of the system:

• The South African Police Services (SAPS) with regard to Crime Scene Management, Forensics, Criminal Record Centres, Detectives, Organised Crime, Economic Crime, etc.
• The Department of Health – Forensic Laboratories and Mortuaries.
• Human Resources Interventions, including adequate training, skilling, performance management, recruitment, retention and incentive packages.

Challenges Going Forward

In his State-of-the-Nation Address of 2008, the former President Mbeki referred to the CJS Seven-Point-Plan as “Business Unusual”. Implementing such an ambitious plan comes with its own challenges. The new direction of the CJS needs to be charted and institutionalised at one and the same time. Such unfamiliar territory can be at once daunting and exhilarating.

As we progress this path, the guiding Vision for change and the sound reasons for improved service delivery in the interests of justice must be ever before us. BACSA is particularly pleased that Government has continued to involve us in a process that is pioneering and far-reaching. We look forward to working with Government as a key change agent within a process that seeks to build confidence in our CJS institutions through improved and consistent performance that meets demand and acts as a deterrent to crime.