Allow me to express my sincere delight at being here today, in order to review progress with regards to the implementation of the Child Justice Act that came into operation since 1 April 2010. The work we embarked on as afforded by the promulgation of this Child Justice Act into law demonstrated without any doubt that the law is not just a piece of legislation that is disinterested on the welfare of the people.
But it is in a very important way, the Child Justice Act gives us powers to commit resources towards building a future generation that is consistent with the ideals of a better life for all the people of South Africa as enshrined in our Constitution. It is our conviction that if we fail to pass on the baton of our democratic values to the youth of this great nation, we would be inevitably passing on a baton of lawlessness and underdevelopment.
As a caring government, it remains our duty to create conducive environment for all our communities to develop their full potentials and this is more so for victims of crime and vulnerable offenders such as children. We should as the community at large shows our faith on the nobility of our common good of society, particularly the most vulnerable in our midst, to turn their lives around and become productive members of the South African community.
This is one way of reducing the number of offenders and creating a culture of responsible citizenship. That is why even what used to be prisons have now been transformed into correctional centres, and this objective of correcting the behaviour of all of our people has now extended to young offenders.
Ladies and gentlemen and to all the children gathered here today, allow me now to reflect on the output that we have signed as a cluster which in terms of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Service Delivery Agreement is stated as Output 1, that is, An effective, efficient and integrated Criminal Justice System, which has a Sub-output 2.6, which is to increase cases finalised through diversion and Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms.
Our cluster, the Justice Cluster, is implementing this by way of key activities, mainly relating to the development and implementation of a Child Justice National Policy Framework linked to the Restorative Justice Policy Framework which activities cuts across the Cluster. As I have said, this also shows that the work to transform our South African society is a cross cutting endeavour, hence the collaboration by many government departments.
This basically means that we aim to increase the use of alternative methods to:
- warn children to appear in courts, other than by arresting them through the South African Police Service (SAPS);
- increase the use of diversion by prosecutors and the courts;
- support service providers such as Nicro in order to promote diversion, non-custodial sanctions and Alternative Dispute Resolution-processes;
- we also need to increase the use of mediation by prosecutors;
- and lastly increase the numbers of secure care facilities (such as child and youth care facilities), available for children awaiting trial instead of sending young offenders to await trial together with adult offenders and sometimes hardened criminals who may further negatively influence the young offenders.
Ladies and gentlemen, all this is in line with our endeavour that we should never give up on our youth, some of whom would have actually been first time offenders, by resigning them into the vicious culture of crime. By so doing, we would have broken the culture of crime at its backbone, which means the vicious cycle of violence must become a thing of the past.
In our society, we must inculcate it in our children that there is no glory in crime and that all those who seek to live on the proceeds of crime would face the full might of the law and that these are not role models for our youth.
Inter-sectoral implementation of the Child Justice Act, 2008
In terms of our inter-sectoral work, in the JCPS Cluster, all departments have collectively embarked on the implementation of the Child Justice Act, the National Policy Framework in terms of the Child Justice Act, which is linked with the broader JCPS Restorative Justice Framework and its implementation.
Regarding children committing an offence, which unfortunately is also a proven fact, we are trying to change the relevant systems in order to ensure that our children are managed as children and not as adults. And this will include implementing strategies and mechanisms to facilitate that children are diverted as much as possible outside the normal criminal justice system. If any given child acknowledges responsibility for the crime concerned, this becomes the basis for further rehabilitation. It is our duty to assist the young offenders who appreciate the wrongfulness of these criminal acts as pre-condition for further rehabilitation. In other words, those child facilities must not be seen as alternative luxurious homes to escape hardships elsewhere, but as appropriate platforms to rehabilitate young offenders so that as they return to the community they lead normal and productive lives. This means that children will be helped by such programs to turn their lives around and not to fall into this vicious cycle of crime and violence.
It is for this reasons that Government has implemented the Child Justice Act, since 1 April 2010, which has as its main objectives to deal with children in conflict with the law. The appropriate mechanisms are through
- the assessments of all children,
- the possibility of diverting children from the mainstream criminal justice system
- and the possibility of the sentencing to restorative justice and non-custodial sentences.
The purpose of this system is to ensure that children are kept out of the formal criminal justice system, as much as possible. As government, we are committed to this programme as enabled through this law, that is, the Child Justice Act.
However, if serious crimes are committed by such children, the possibility still exists that those children concerned will go through the normal courts and be accordingly prosecuted. Therefore this does not mean, in any way, that children must ever think that if they commit crime that things will be easy for them. Through these facilities and programme, we are not opening a window for the abuse of our efforts at correcting the wrongs committed by young offenders. So to all children, I say be warned because we will act very harshly if need be, as each criminal case will be treated on its own merits or demerits. In terms of implementing the Child Justice Act, this further means that the treatment of children must be in keeping with the vulnerability, age, maturity and the development of the child.
It must therefore be emphasised that the Child Justice Act, is a result of continued work by government, child rights activists in the children’s rights and child justice fields going back as far as 1996. It was introduced into an environment which anticipated its implementation and is one in whose many of the obligations of the Act have already been established as part of the day to day service delivery, as the continued excellent service delivery in this Centre testifies to.
The Act emphasises an intersectoral approach to address offences committed by our children. In order to facilitate this, this Act stipulates that an Intersectoral Committee on Child Justice (the ISCCJ) be established in order to deal with co-ordinated service delivery and the holistic addressing of challenges in an inter-departmental manner. The ISCCJ is headed by the DG: of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. All Directors-General that are participating], including Social Development, Correctional Service, Basic Education, SAPS and the National Director of Public Prosecutions, attend the meetings on a quarterly basis with the aim to ensure uniform, co-ordinated and co-operative approach by all government departments. Other organs of state and institutions are roped in who are dealing with matters relating to child justice;
Impact of implementation of the Child Justice Act, 2008
Analysis of the impact on ground level, indicates that the implementation of the formal system to manage children in conflict with the law, is working as have been evidenced by this centre, in that less children are going through the formal criminal justice system; and more children are being managed from the outset outside the formal criminal justice system. In this regard, the processes and systems at ground level, indicates, that the police are arresting less children and making more use of alternative ways to take children to court, through summonses or notices to appear in our courts;
The prosecution is diverting children who commit minor offences, more readily, through the prosecutor’s diversion programme in terms of Chapter 6; or referring them to children’s court inquiry, as children in need of care and protection. The police, probation officers from Social Development and legal aid attorneys are contacting one another more readily to ensure assessment of all arrested children within the 48 hours period that is stipulated in the Act; or children summonsed to appear in court, within the period before the children need to appear in court.
Successes of implementation
Ladies and gentlemen let me also emphasise that the implementation of the Child Justice Act has gone well thus far. Successes of implementation include that we have already published regulations by National Directives of National Director of Public Prosecutions were tabled in March 2010; Interim National Instructions of SAPS were tabled in March 2010; and the final National Instructions were tabled in Parliament during May of this year; the National Policy Framework on Child Justice was tabled in Parliament during June 2010 and published during August 2010; and the Diversion Accreditation Framework was tabled by the National Department of Social Development, during June 2010.
All guidelines for the management and establishment of One Stop Child Justice Centres were also approved by the Directors General ISCCJ.
With regards to children awaiting trial in Correctional Facilities, there is a major achievement, showing success of implementation of the Act. During 2002, for example, there was an average of 2269 children awaiting trial on a monthly basis in prisons. This number decreased to an average of 1192 during 2007 and we believe that continued focussed attention has led to a continuous decrease of children awaiting trial in prisons. As of 30 June 2010, only 297 children were awaiting trial in prisons, mostly for serious and violent crimes which means that this system is working.
Child and Youth Care Facilities (for awaiting trial and sentenced children)
The National Department of Social Development (DSD), in particular, has finalised and circulated norms and standards for Child and Youth Care Facilities. These facilities are used to house children who are awaiting trial and/or sentenced to detention in a child and youth care facility (facilities), which means that fewer children are being detained in prisons.
The DSD and Department of Basic Education (DoBE) are currently busy with handover processes of existing Reform Schools and Schools of Industry to the National Department of Social Development, in terms of the Children’s Act, and the target is to complete this work by the 1st April 2012.
Communication and awareness-raising
The launch of the Child Justice Act, on the 1st April 2010 in Soweto was an event partly aimed at communicating this new paradigm as enabled through the Child Justice Act itself. Since then, much hype has gone into our work in rehabilitating children in conflict with the law. There is ongoing communication in the media; with NGO’s and at various grass-root levels led by the Provincial Child Justice Forums as well as outreach campaigns to communities, schools and by non-governmental organisations (NGOs). A holistic and co-ordinated communication strategy has been developed, and today’s event is part of the communication strategy.
Training
An inter-sectoral training manual has also been developed for all departments involved, during the current financial year. Nine inter-sectoral training sessions were held under lead of Provincial Child Justice Forums before the implementation of this Act. The Justice College has also started training Child Justice Court Clerks in all nine provinces, as from May 2010, with the last provincial training scheduled for October 2010, where-after a further National Workshop is planned for train-the trainers campaign, to take the training further to the various provinces. 290 Clerks have been trained during seven decentralised training sessions; and a further 150 clerks will be trained by the end of October this year. Annual training will continue in the years to come.
We are happy to also indicate that the Magistracy have requested the Judicial Education Institute and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for support with their own training sessions.
Twenty-five (25) Judges of the North-Gauteng High Court have been provided with an information session on the Child Justice Act, 2008, on 8 September 2010, concentrating on the appeals and review-processes and implications in terms of this Child Justice Act.
National Prosecuting Authority
With regards to the role of the NPA, national directives, as I have indicated, have been developed, tabled and circulated as guidelines. The first set of provincial training to all prosecutors has been done. The second set of training is also currently under way. In this, the NPA assists with intersectoral training.
Challenges Relating to Resources and Budget-constraints
The Cluster is implementing the Child Justice Act, 2008, mainly within existing reprioritised budgets. The Cluster received R30 million to implement the Child Justice Act, 2008 during 2010/11, which were distributed between the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, mainly for:
- the appointment of dedicated child justice court clerks;
- the inter-sectoral meetings; training and awareness-raising;
- the NPA, for appointment of additional dedicated prosecutors;
- and also to Legal Aid SA, for appointment of dedicated children’s attorneys who are pivotal to the success of this.
As a Department in our capacity as Chair of the JCPS Cluster, we have submitted a request for additional funding as an Unfunded Priority Project for the whole of the Cluster, to National Treasury for the following 3 financial years to further consolidate our work in this regard.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, and to all the children gathered here today, allow me to express once more my delight for the opportunity to visit the children in this Centre as well as the intersectoral role-players in Mangaung, because it is only by working together, that we can make a difference in the children’s lives. I urge you all to continue with your steadfast work to build a new society that readily embraces the values enshrined in our democratic constitution in our individual and collective conducts. I want to urge also all the children who are beneficiaries of these great efforts to realise that despite whatever efforts we can ever make, ultimately the responsibility with regards to a better future lies with your own decisions and conduct. As government, we have put up these magnificent facilities for your use, these are the resources that could have been used otherwise but we chose to use them in order to help you, the children of South Africa, you must rebuild your lives and give you a second chance towards leading responsible lives.
I also want to extend my gratitude to the organisers of this event and everyone in attendance for having taken time to grace this very important occasion.
Again I thank you all!
Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
