The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has conducted video arraignments with 6 113 prisoners to date as part of a pilot project that, in turn, forms part of the Integrated Justice System (IJS).
IT deputy commissioner Jack Shilubane says the pilot, being run at the Durban Court, Pinetown, and Westville Prisons, is aimed at "reducing the risk of escapes and high transportation costs for cases which are going to be postponed".
Upon completion of the pilot, the project is to be rolled out to 47 courts across the country and 22 DCS sites. He did not attach a timeline to this, explaining it was dependent on when the pilot was signed off.
The ADSL video arraignments represent the second leg of the DCS`s two-part involvement in the IJS, the first being a rehabilitation and offender management system, which is to be in place by mid-2010.
According to Shilubane, the offender management system`s goal is "to manage the core functions in respect of the remand of detainees, sentenced offenders, parolees, and probationers".
It is to be delivered in five phases, with delivery dates varying from March 2009 to July 2010. The system is to include the use of biometrics, like fingerprint identification, and will manage everything from a detainee`s exercise programme and diet, to their educational development and spiritual care.
The costs of the various parts of the IJS projects have not been disclosed.
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