Issued by: Department of Justice and Consitutional Development
17 September 2002
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Justice wishes to correct certain misinformation that recently appeared in the media concerning children awaiting trial in prison, as well as inform the public on progress made with regard to improving the situation.
Recent reports in various newspapers made reference to 22 000 "innocent children" being held in prison. The figure is inaccurate. Most recent verified statistics issued by the Department of Correctional Services for the period July 2002, reflect that there were only 2157 children awaiting trial in prison and 1824 serving sentences. (The reason for the error may have resulted from the inclusion of the figure given for prisoners aged between 18 and 21 being held or serving sentences in jail.) In accordance to the contents of the Constitution, children are identified only as persons under the age of 18 years.
Notable interventions are currently and have in the past been taken to deal with children awaiting trial in prison. During April 2000, the number of children under the age of 18 years awaiting trial in prison had escalated 2716. Concerned by this figure, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development led an inter-sectoral investigation into the situation. Since the completion of the investigation during 2000, the overall number of children in prison throughout the country has decreased by a total of approximately 600 juveniles. The number has been maintained just above 2000 children over the past year.
An Inter-sectoral Committee for Child Justice meets every month in Pretoria monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis. Although the overall picture suggests that numbers have been reasonably stable this year, some provinces are causing concern. Kwa-Zulu/Natal continues to record the highest numbers of children awaiting trial. The Inter-sectoral Committee has since visited Durban, met with officials and set up two additional courts to deal with the backlog. Efforts to further improve the situation in Kwa-Zulu/Natal have included the setting up of a multi-disciplinary case review team and an additional regional juvenile court. These measures are bearing fruit.
It should be noted that in addition to the above, the Department of Social Development currently accommodates 2044 children awaiting trial in their secure care facilities. They are also rolling out a non-custodial programme called "home based supervision", which has proven to be very successful in the Western Cape province.
The Department of Justice considers a long-term solution to this matter the imminent enactment of the Child Justice Bill. The Bill was introduced into Parliament on 8 August 2002 and will be debated in due course. The Child Justice Bill aims to establish and facilitate a criminal justice process for children accused of committing offences and protecting their rights in terms of the Constitution. The Bill applies to any person under the age of 18 who has allegedly committed an offence. In order to keep children out of police cells and prisons, the Bill encourages the release of children into the care of their parents and entrenches the constitutional injunction that imprisonment should be a measure of last resort only. A probation officer will assess children prior to appearing at a preliminary inquiry. The preliminary inquiry should take place within 48 hours of arrest and is presided over by a magistrate referred to as the "inquiry magistrate". Decisions to divert the child from formal court procedure to a suitable programme may be taken at the preliminary inquiry stage, should the prosecutor indicate that the matter be deferred.
Should the case not be diverted, the matter will proceed to the subsequent plea and trial stages. Courts before which children appear for plea or trial are regarded as a child justice courts. In addition provisions have also been proposed in the Bill for the establishment of One-Stop Child Justice Centres. The Bill provides a wide range of sentencing options for children as alternatives to serving prison sentences. Children who are 14 years or older however, may still be sentenced to imprisonment in certain specified circumstances.
The Bill proposes monitoring mechanisms to ensure the effective implementation of relevant legislation, and promotes co-operation between all government departments, organisations and agencies involved in effecting a streamlined child justice system.
Contact persons:
Ms. Ooshara Sewpaul
Phone (012) 315-1167