The new government strategy to tackle crime in South Africa will be flawed from the outset unless individuals in key positions are removed, role players in the criminal justice system said this week.
The strategy, masterminded by Deputy Justice Minister Johnny de Lange and non-executive director of FirstRand Laurie Dippenaar, aims to overhaul the crime-fighting system.
Government announced the new crime strategy last week. It was developed with the presidential big business working group.
Officials said the criminal justice system was dysfunctional because there was ineffective coordination between the departments that deal with crime — safety and security, justice and constitutional development and correctional services.
Ministers are said to be ‘operating in silos†despite Cabinet committees and clusters aimed at improving coordination.
Members of the business community and the criminal justice system have expressed concern about individuals who remain in positions of power despite the revamp of the criminal justice system.
National police commissioner Jackie Selebi, who is alleged to be involved in unlawful activities, is a specific concern.
‘Key leadership is deficient. We all know the politics of that and clearly people need to change, but we had to lead the horse to the water first,†a business leader said.
De Lange made it clear that the new plan will not look at the performance of individuals.
‘There is also the question of pride. How do you tell top police officers that they need to take a basic management course?†asked the business leader.
A review of the old system showed that while the police aim to catch as many criminals as possible to reach their targets, they do not investigate cases well enough for prosecutors to win cases. It was also found that police wasted time and money looking for criminals, only to find them already imprisoned.
The new plan is likely to be headed by a deputy minister who will take responsibility for dealing with crime, a source close to the process said.
The cost of the plan has not been established, but is estimated to run into billions of rands. Increased salaries are envisaged, as well as improved systems and better equipment.
The authors of the plan looked closely at the British system, where all departments related to crime fall under the Home Office, which is similar to South Africa’s department of home affairs.
A senior official in the criminal justice system told the Mail & Guardian that a single ministry is not possible because there are ‘too many turf wars†going on in the security cluster to allow for an overarching controlling ministry.
The new strategy will ensure that Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula releases crime statistics more than once a year. Although the business community wants the statistics to be given quarterly, they will probably be released twice a year, the M&G was told.
Reducing crime by 7% to 10% annually remains a target.
However, the new strategy has increased fears that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will lose its independence. The strategy endorses a decision taken at the ANC policy conference in June to coordinate the criminal justice system and to clip the wings of the Scorpions, the elite crime-fighting unit within the NPA.
‘The NPA’s future remains at risk — plan or no plan. If the Scorpions are to be moved, they will be moved. This plan won’t change that,†a top official in the criminal justice system said.
The plan was conceived in the late 1990s by business leaders, but shelved by the government until 2005, when ‘things started going the wrong way again†and crime rates began to increase significantly.