How to make best use of scarce resources in the criminal justice system. Report by Jean Redpath
ACJR Publications
This paper explores the relationship between the provinces and the NPA by looking at the legal framework as well as a few case studies and examples of cooperation that have emerged. Recommendations are made for a way forward. Report by Lukas Muntingh
Delegation of the prosecutorial function to state entities: Expanding prosecution of neglected crimes, 3 September 2021
Delegations of the prosecutorial function to state entities: Expanding prosecution of neglected crimes. Report by Jean Redpath
KwaZulu-Natal has long suffered from inadequate, corrupt and violent policing. Recent events have simply made it more obvious. The problem of policing in the province dates from before the transition to democracy. Policing is a national function - in South Africa is in crisis and in KwaZulu-Natal the crisis is magnified, writes Jean Redpath.
This is a Submission by ACJR on the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services Draft Bill
Submission by the Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape on ‘The Contribution of SOE's to Vision 2030: case studies of Eskom, Transnet and PRASA’, 30 June 2020
ACJR Submission to the City of Cape Town on the draft Streets, Public Places and the Prevention of Public Noise Nuisances Amendment By‐law, 2021
Submission by Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) to the Constitutional Review Committee | June 2021
The severity of the punishment, if caught, is not a deterrent to committing crime. If consumers of alcohol can be fairly certain that if they get behind the steering wheel of a vehicle that they will be stopped and tested, they will be less likely to do so and make alternative arrangements or postpone their travel.
The number of prisoners writing matric is so frightfully small that we are left pondering how this is even possible 27 years into democracy. The fewer than 200 prisoners writing matric annually pales in comparison with the 111,000 sentenced prisoners in South Africa – less than half a percent.
How much discretion does a prosecutor have to decline to prosecute? Is mediation always a good thing? Is there sometimes an obligation to prosecute? Does compensation for the victim trump societal criminal justice interests? These are vexing questions, especially when attempting to answer them in the abstract. A recent case may help in crystallising some thoughts.
Appointing Directors to the Boards of State-Owned Enterprises: A proposed framework to assess suitability
Africa’s prisons are a long-standing concern for rights defenders given the prevalence of rights abuses, overcrowding, poor conditions of detention and the extent to which the criminal justice system is used to target the poor. The paper surveys 24 southern and east African countries within the context of COVID-19. Between 5 March and 15 April 2020 COVID-19 had spread to 23 southern and east African countries, except Lesotho. The overwhelming majority of these countries imposed general restrictions on their populations from March 2020 and nearly all restricted visits to prisons to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic and government responses demonstrated the importance of reliable and up to date data on the prison population, and any confined population, as it became evident that such information is sorely lacking. The World Health Organization recommended the release of prisoners to ease congestion, a step supported by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture. However, the lack of data and the particular African context pose some questions about the desirability of such a move. The curtailment of prison visits by external persons also did away with independent oversight even in states parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). In the case of South Africa, prison monitors were not listed in the ensuing legislation as part of essential services and thus were excluded from access to prisons. In the case of Mozambique, it was funding being placed on hold by the donor community that prevented the Human Rights Commission from visiting prisons. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted long-standing systemic problems in Africa’s prisons. Yet African states have remained remarkably reluctant to engage in prison reform, despite the fact that poorly managed prisons pose a significant threat to general public health care.