Remarkable strides have been made in the quest towards an effective South African justice system since the technology visions of some 30 years ago – an era of modernising the next-generation technology of the time, rapidly evolving it into the user-orientated tools that formed the foundation for the world we know today.
In an age of innovators, limitations were restricted only to the imagination; experimentation started making visions possible using technology to do what we treat as commonplace today. Opportunities to positively apply technology were already seen then in arenas as remote healthcare, education and safety.
As South Africa’s crime rate escalated and GBVF’s prevalence became increasingly apparent, the need for an end-to-end, cohesive and collaborative justice system was one of the earliest visions, highlighting the need, holistically, for it to become more victim-friendly and close gaps in the process of dealing with criminals, including the repeat perpetrators who would simply evade incarceration after their release by travelling into a different province or to homes where they felt shielded from the law.
Today’s Department of Justice demonstrates how to leverage from the strengths of cluster units to provide the beginning-to-end justice platform to process perpetrators and care for their victims.
Noteworthy is that attention on criminal cases versus civil matters has around a 60% and 40% split respectively, underlining the recognition that civil matters are also an integral focus of the Integrated Justice System (IJS) members.
We need to build structures around people, processes and technology, factoring in the entire value chain. People are at the centre of our technology vision.
IJS is within the Department of Justice as the umbrella; these cluster units fall under the IJS, which was created to modernise the entire criminal justice system. It includes member departments such as the South African Police Services (SAPS), State Security Agency (SSA), Office of the Chief Justice, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Home Affairs, Legal Aid South Africa, the departments of Correctional Services and Social Development.
At a gathering in late July, hosted by Trend Micro, senior managers of ICT in Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster and other invited guests from the public and private sectors, thrashed out the importance of cyber security in the justice system.
Says IJS’ Portfolio Head, Nicholas Munyai: “This gathering imparted interesting and impactful trends on a national and global scale and provided the platform for robust, valuable, engaging and fruitful discussion. We need to build structures around people, processes and technology, factoring in the entire value chain. We also need to overcome such pain points as connectivity issues.”
Trend Micro’s Jared Rossouw, Director: Public sector and national government, says: “The justice system is the heart of this country. In a world where cyber threats evolve faster than ever, our greatest strength lies in our unity public and private sector working hand-in-hand. This event was not just about dialogue. It was about building a formidable partnership – one grounded in trust, capability and shared responsibility. We envision a resilient platform where the JCPS cluster can actively collaborate with key industry players, to bring cutting-edge solutions to the forefront of national defence.
Private sector support
Integral to how the criminal justice system can grow to fulfil all its mandates are public-private partnerships, says Munyai, and the private sector is “receptive to discussion and involvement in the criminal justice system towards their own desires for a free and safe South Africa. We don’t have the budget to implement everything we wish for immediately, but with private sector support, we can make IJS and its member departments effective criminal justice instruments.
“The vision is to have a paperless, secure, modern and seamless criminal justice system. People are at the centre of this vision and the approach is to have people part of the technology and processes and not allow it to get ahead of people. We are embracing AI, for example, but it’s vital that people are not left behind as we deploy this cyber crime-fighting tool.
“We are also engaged in using audio visual conferencing devices to protect victims and make it safer for everyone involved in the crime-fighting chain – from victims coming forward to report a crime, to those responsible for detainee arrest, prosecution, incarceration, rehabilitation and ultimately release back into society. Cyber security is vital to protect the identities and privacy of people, and to protect data contained in dockets, court and prison records. We must prevent breaches that compromise records or result in corruption, case management data misuse or dockets disappearing entirely.
“Audio visual tools have the added benefit of not having victims or witnesses in the same room with suspects on trial and vulnerable to intimidation, secondary victimisation or flash-back trauma. It also reduces the risks involved in transporting perpetrators to and from line-ups, bookings, hearings, sentencing, imprisonment and events involved in application of the legal process.”
Constant training
However, Munyai stresses that people working within the justice system have to be thoroughly and consistently trained, regardless of the position they hold. As South Africa’s crime fighting becomes more sophisticated, refined and victim-friendly, so the processes involved differ for the data capturing around minors and adults, be they victims, perpetrators, suspected criminal accomplices or illegal aliens.
“Processes and technology demand critical understanding and the requisite people skills to be safely and effectively managed.”
The IJS and its member departments have notched up some significant successes. Notable success is evident in SAPS’ ability to correctly identify criminals using Home Affairs modalities such as unique person identifier, biometrics for fingerprinting and facial recognition.
“Progress is tangible, but we still have work to do. With the right partnerships, members' buy-in and relevant technologies – including critical cyber security measures – we will realise our vision as a criminal justice system that continues eroding South Africa’s crime pandemic,” concludes Munyai.
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