The 5 Doors: A Review Of The Criminal Justice System

South Africa is currently in the grip of a major crime wave. It is a phenomenon that affects everyone. It is characterised by inadequate policing, over-burdened courts and a prison system that simply cannot cope with the number of people awaiting trial and convicted of crimes.

The criminal justice system needs a complete overhaul. In order for any successful solution to the problem to be put in place, the system needs to be viewed in its entirety. While each section should be responsible for its own management and administration, the government needs to look at the system as a whole if it is to identify the problems successfully and implement the correct solutions.

The purpose of the document (available upon request) being launched today is to provide that overview, to identify the problems and provide solutions. The DA believes that there are five elements, or 'doors', to the criminal justice system in South Africa. For the system to function properly, each of those 'doors' needs to be working properly. If any one of the doors doesn't work, the system fails and justice is not properly administered.

Those doors are:

DOOR 1:Police Numbers - Making sure there are enough police men and women deployed on the ground.
DOOR 2:Police Resources - Making sure those police men and women are properly equipped.
DOOR 3:The Courts - Making sure courts are independent and operate efficiently and effectively.
DOOR 4:The Prisons - Making sure criminals are punished, incarcerated where necessary and rehabilitated if possible.
DOOR 5:Victims of Crime - Making sure victims are compensated and cared for.

Any person who commits a crime or is the victim of a crime will have to deal with each of these elements of the criminal justice system in turn. For the system to work, each door must be open and not closed - in other words, a criminal or victim must be able to move through the system effectively and efficiently.

In each section of this document we have identified a number of what we deem to be the biggest obstacles to making that element of the criminal justice system work effectively and, in turn, we have set out the DA's solutions.

It is our hope that each of the relevant Ministers will view this document as a constructive and helpful initiative that generates new ideas to help improve the criminal justice system and, in turn, the quality of the lives of ordinary South Africans.

An holistic view of the justice system

Too often, the different sectors of the justice system operate as if they are separate from each other. This document emphasises the need to see the system in its entirety, and for the various role-players to find ways of working together to improve the system.

By looking at the system in its entirety, as has been done here, some problems common to each section begin to emerge. The three main problems to emerge from the body of this report are:

1. A lack of leadership: The top political leadership in all three Ministries in the justice system, namely Safety and Security, Justice and Correctional Services, is poor. The leadership by the Directors-General/Commissioners in these departments has been equally disastrous, as evidenced by the ineptitude and scandals associated with both Commissioner Mti and Commissioner Selebi. These important positions need to be filled with competent leaders immediately. As it stands, many of the problems that are being experienced have not been corrected because of a lack of political will from those in charge.
2. A lack of capacity: Capacity is lacking across all sections, both in Departments as a whole and in the individuals employed in the justice system. The activities of the key areas of the justice system are being severely undermined by the lack of capacity in both the numbers and the competence of people employed. Whether it be police officers, detectives, forensic experts, Magistrates, Judges or prison warders, the justice system desperately needs to increase its numbers where necessary or fill the vacancies in these areas. Those recruited must be adequately skilled to perform their jobs and must continue to receive training and support once in their positions.
3. A lack of resources and equipment: All the sectors of the justice system are severely constrained by poor resource allocation, lack of equipment and inadequate facilities. The fact that over 30 000 police officers do not have bullet-proof vests not only puts these officers at risk of their lives, but also undermines their ability to be effective officers on the beat. A lack of equipment in the specialist units also undermines the system, as well as the generally poor state of many of the facilities - from police stations to court houses to prisons.

To solve these problems and make the justice system work properly, the government needs to look at these problems and the proposed solutions seriously, and find ways of cutting across the sub-sectors and working together for the benefit of all who have to use the justice system. Only then will true justice be experienced by all South Africans.

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