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DA Policy on Safety, Crime and Justice December 2013

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DA Policy on Safety, Crime and Justice December 2013 DA policy on safety, crime and justice December 2013 Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 4 Step 1: Preventing Crime Before it Occurs ..................................................................................... 5 1.1. A more effective police service ............................................................................................... 6 a. Boosting SAPS numbers .......................................................................................................... 6 b. Improving the performance and impact of the SAPS ............................................................. 7 c. Guarding the guardians........................................................................................................... 9 d. Greater autonomy for police stations................................................................................... 11 e. Oversight and the DA’s Community Safety Act .................................................................... 13 1.2. General crime prevention interventions .............................................................................. 13 a. Crime reduction tactics ......................................................................................................... 14 b. Enhancing crime prevention collaboration ........................................................................... 15 c. Crime hot-spots ..................................................................................................................... 19 d. Using technology effectively ................................................................................................. 19 Step 2: Detecting and Responding to Crime ................................................................................ 20 2.1 Managing information .......................................................................................................... 20 a. An Integrated Criminal Justice Information System ............................................................. 20 b. Crime statistics we can trust ................................................................................................. 21 c. Cross-referencing finger-print records ................................................................................. 22 2.2 Processing criminal evidence ................................................................................................... 22 a. Improving Forensic Science Laboratories ............................................................................. 22 b. Better detection .................................................................................................................... 24 2.3 Targeting specific crimes ........................................................................................................... 25 a. Reinstating the specialised units ........................................................................................... 25 b. Confronting rural safety ........................................................................................................ 26 c. Fighting drug and alcohol abuse ........................................................................................... 27 d. Fighting organised crime ....................................................................................................... 28 e. Domestic violence and sexual assault ................................................................................... 30 f. Violence in schools ................................................................................................................ 30 g. Poaching ................................................................................................................................ 31 h. Public order policing ............................................................................................................. 33 Step 3: Successfully Prosecuting and Convicting Criminals ........................................................... 34 3.1. Judicial independence and the Office of the Chief Justice ....................................................... 34 3.2. An independent prosecuting authority ..................................................................................... 34 3.3. Getting our courts working ....................................................................................................... 36 a. Managing workloads ............................................................................................................. 36 b. Reducing backlogs ................................................................................................................. 38 2 c. An integrated information management system ................................................................. 39 d. Court infrastructure .............................................................................................................. 40 3.4. Access to Justice ....................................................................................................................... 41 3.5. Responding to specific crimes .................................................................................................. 42 3.6. Appropriate sentences ............................................................................................................. 43 3.7. Improving the courts for victims and witnesses ...................................................................... 44 3.8. Strengthening the SIU in the fight against corruption .............................................................. 44 Step 4: A correctional system that reduces criminality ................................................................ 45 4.1. Reduce criminality by keeping offenders out of prison ............................................................ 46 a. Alternative sentencing .......................................................................................................... 46 4.2. Improving the rehabilitation value of prisons ........................................................................... 48 a. Easing overcrowding ............................................................................................................. 48 b. Remand prisoners ................................................................................................................. 49 c. Designing prisons for rehabilitation ...................................................................................... 50 4.3. Rethinking rehabilitation .......................................................................................................... 51 4.4. Prisons work where prisoners work ......................................................................................... 53 4.5. Effective oversight .................................................................................................................... 54 4.6. Effective re-integration ............................................................................................................ 55 a. Halfway facilities ................................................................................................................... 55 b. Criminal records and re-offending ........................................................................................ 56 c. Second chance legislation ..................................................................................................... 57 4.7. Managing the managers .......................................................................................................... 58 Step 5: Compensation and Relief for the Victims of Crime ........................................................... 59 5.1. Directorate for Victims of Crime .............................................................................................. 59 5.2. Keeping victims informed ........................................................................................................ 60 3 Introduction Individuals cannot reach their potential and take advantage of opportunities if they live in fear. When we constrain individuals in pursuing their life goals, we are constraining the well-being of communities. Personal safety is a prerequisite for creating an environment in which South Africans can thrive. Whilst there has been moderate success in reducing crime levels in the country since 1994, South Africans still do not feel safe nor do they trust that their property is safe from crime. The Victims of Crime Survey published by Statistics South Africa in 20121, showed that more than 1 in 3 households avoid going into open spaces unaccompanied because of their fear of crime, almost 1 in 4 households would not allow their children to play unsupervised by an older person or play freely in their area. Only 14% of households felt safe to walk around in their area in the dark. Every year, more than 2 million individuals fall victim to crime2. In the five years since 2007, South Africa experienced 85 018 reported murders, 333 374 reported sexual offences, 556 125 reported aggravated robberies and 1.23 million reported residential robberies3. Criminal activity cannot be allowed to continue tearing apart the fabric of communities and poisoning the national psyche. The web of terror that crime throws over South Africa is so strong and far-reaching that it is possible to say that every South African has been constrained by
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