THE CSIR
CRIME PREVENTION GROUP
TO: THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
ON JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BY: The CSIR CRIME PREVENTION RESEARCH GROUP
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CSIR CRIME PREVENTION GROUP WISHES
TO MAKE AN ORAL SUBMISSION AND ADDRESS THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE AT ANY PUBLIC
HEARINGS THAT MAY OCCUR ON 5th FEBRUARY 2008 OR ANY OTHER TIME
SPECIFIED, AND ACCORDINGLY REQUESTS AN
1. Introduction:
The CSIR
Crime Prevention Research Group (CPRG) is a member of and part of the Driver
Group of the Child Justice Alliance and supports the submission of the CJB to
this committee.
We
commend government for bringing this Bill back to Parliament as it is an
essential tool in enabling the rights of children in conflict with the law and
therefore had the potential to contribute significantly to a safer
We will
try not to duplicate what is contained in that submission, save to emphasise:
1.1
The need for the Bill to be underpinned by
four guiding principles:
1.1.1
All children will be assessed
1.1.2
All children can be diverted
1.1.3
All children will have a preliminary
enquiry
1.1.4
No child can be subject to minimum
sentencing
1.2
The need for the Bill to return wherever
possible to the simplicity of previous drafts, as in its current form it is
felt to be overly complicated and thus difficult to implement.
2. The substance of this submission focuses on three
aspects:
2.1 Crime Prevention; an essential principle of the CJB
Criminal
justice cannot properly be examined in isolation from crime prevention
strategies and models. Confusion about
what is crime combating and what is crime prevention is common in SA, not least
because responsibility for all matters regarding crime is often placed at the
door of the Criminal Justice System and even more specifically at the door of
the police. It is important therefore to be explicit about crime prevention as
distinct from crime combating, to ensure that crime prevention objectives are
met wherever possible in criminal justice policies and strategies.
According
to (Lab, 2004:23) “...crime prevention
entails any action designed to reduce the actual level of crime and/or the
perceived fear of crime”. Further to this “these actions are not restricted to the efforts of the criminal
justice system and include activities by individuals or groups, both public and
private. Although definitions for crime prevention differ, most definitions
integrate the idea of lessening actual crime levels whilst preventing further
increase in crime” (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research,
2004a:7).
Over the
past 10 years,
The
impact on our society of the sustained and widespread criminality that we have
experienced, should neither be ignored nor under-estimated as a factor in
developing, promulgating and implementing criminal justice policies. Typical
responses to victimisation are a sense of loss, anger, sadness, anxiety,
depression the need for revenge, an inability to look forward with optimism or
to commit to long term plans and of course, increased levels of fear. These
responses, while legitimate are not conducive to making or supporting policy
that promotes restorative rather than purely punitive justice. The effects are seen rather in an increased
demand for more punitive justice approaches, harsher sentencing and even the death
penalty. Restorative justice is sometimes mistaken for a “soft” response to
crime – it is vital that it is properly understood and valued as a tool that
promotes accountability and consequence for the offender at the same time as
creating the space for a positive future.
Crime prevention is not explicitly
recognised as being an objective or outcome of the Child Justice Bill, in
either the preamble or the body of the Bill and this is seen as an omission.
While the focus in on the role of the Child Justice in terms of entrenching
and
and in so doing aims to establish a special criminal justice system for
children in conflict with the law, the Bill is not framed in the context of
contributing to a safer
We submit that there should be an additional paragraph that articulates:
·
“…promotes a safe
2.1.2
Breaking
the cycle of violence
“Sometimes as I listen to people talk about violent youth, I doubt
that they really want to understand the dangers that our boys face and to make
sense of how their violent acts flow from their experiences in our society.
Sometimes it seems that few people really care about hurt little boys who have
grown up to be violent teenagers, except as potential threats to the community”
(Garbarino 1999:20).
It is
recognised that in many cases the victim and the offender are the same person
at a different point in a lifecycle. While all victims and bystanders to
violence will not go on to offend, research reveals that the overwhelming
majority of violent offenders first experience violence as victims or witnesses
of violence. (Friedman 1998: 25; Fraser-Moleketi 1998: 7; Nel 1999: 11).
The
concept of our society as trapped in a cycle of violence is widely
acknowledged. There are two distinct cycles of violence: the first is an
immediate cycle where the victim commits a violent offence in response to being
the victim of violence. The second is a longer-term cycle that involves more
than one generation in violence, where children who are exposed to violence
grow up to perpetuate violence.
In
intervening for the whole child and not just in response to the behaviour of
the child in conflict with the law, the CJB provides an opportunity to address
the problem rather than to problematise the child. In so doing it breaks the
cycle of crime and violence and initiates a new and more constructive cycle.
2.1.3 Increasing faith in the
Criminal Justice System (CJS)
Approaches
to the reduction of crime and victimisation tend to fall within three broad
focus areas. These are typically:
·
The reduction of criminal events,
·
The reduction of the number of criminal
offenders, and
·
The reduction of vulnerability of potential
victims of crimes.
The Child Justice Bill promotes
the concept of Restorative Justice[1]
in which young offenders are offered the opportunity to take responsibility for
the offence, take steps to rectify their anti-social and criminal behaviour and
where possible and appropriate, make amends to the victim of the crime.
Incarceration
and punishment of offenders is however a key resource in the reduction of
active criminal offences and the Child Justice Bill makes
provision for proper and timeous investigation, arrest, prosecution and
conviction of offenders where necessary. The CJS is overloaded and under
capacitated and often contributes to victimisation, treating victims of crime
in an insensitive and often harmful way. It also results in a lowering of
public expectations, with a consequent lessening of the level of cooperation
between communities and the CJS. The CJB, in diverting children in conflict
with the law away from the CJS at the earliest possible point of intervention,
reduces the pressure on the CJS to deal with such cases and provides an
opportunity for effective alternative delivery mechanisms.
2.1.4 Diversion: reducing the likelihood of a “life of crime and
violence”
Incarcerating children is
undesirable for a range of reasons, many outlined in other submissions on this
Bill. This submission deals with the reasons related to crime prevention. While
imprisonment is often quoted as a deterrent to future criminal behaviour, it
comes with risks that far outweigh any positive impact. Overcrowding and lack
of resources in prisons lead to victimisation of offenders while incarcerated
in correctional facilities and present a massive obstacle to reintegration
programmes. The incidence of male rape, of gang activity, bullying and corrupt
practices in prisons is believed to be high (Dissel, 2001:5) and too little is
done to reduce victimisation and entrench human rights in the prison
environment. Such violations are believed to contribute to increased criminality,
where time spent in prison is often referred to as time spent in a “university
of crime” (Dissel, 2001:5).
Keeping children out of
incarceration should always be regarded as the solution of choice if we are to discourage
future criminal activity through alternative positive intervention.
2.2
Training
and evaluation of service provision
While we
gratefully acknowledge that there are pockets of good performance where
children in conflict with the law are already handled according to the
principles of this Bill, for most managers and service providers, it will
require a significant mind shift and training. We submit that a political head
within the cluster be tasked with the responsibility to ensure that all
managers and services providers are enabled to fully implement all aspects of
the Bill. All service providers should understand the role of the CJB in
preventing crime and in making
2.3 Evaluating the contribution of the CJB to a safer
It is
also vital that where policies or strategies have the potential to prevent or
reduce crime, indicators for this contribution should be identified and
progress should be measured. We do not advocate that these indicators be
restricted to a drop in recorded crimes, since crime statistics are typically
not accurate and it is unlikely that a policy of this nature will quickly show
significant differences in recorded figures. Indicators should relate to both
quantitative and qualitative data and should be developed in consultation with
communities and the full range of service providers, so that results are
commonly understood and valued. Evaluation reports should be presented to
Parliament on at least an annual basis.
3. Conclusion:
Criminal
justice strategies will not alone address the problem of crime and violence but
it is vital that all criminal justice policies and strategies be scrutinised
through and presented within a crime prevention or crime reduction lens, as
these objectives are compelling and urgent and every opportunity to achieve
them should be seized. Crime prevention opportunities should be highlighted,
particularly where restorative justice approaches are promoted, to encourage
essential support for policies that will contribute to increased safety for all
South Africans in the future.
References
Child Justice Bill [ B49-2002],
Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research, Crime Prevention Centre. 2004a. Practical Guide to CPTED. Unpublished
report, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research,
Dissel, A. (2001). Prison Conditions
in Africa. Research report
written for the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, September
Friedman, M 1998, The Effects of
Violence on individuals and Society. Special
Report on Victim Empowerment in
Garbarino, J. (1999). Lost Boys:
why our sons turn violent and how we can save them. Free Press:
Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Minister for Welfare and Population
Development. National Conference on
Lab, S.P. 2004. Crime prevention:
Approaches, practices and evaluation. 5th
Nel, J, &
Kruger, J. 1999. From Policy to
Practice: Exploring Victim Empowerment Initiatives in
[1] “Restorative justice is a healing process for both victim and offender that allows offenders to make amends for what they have done and to rejoin the law-abiding community, thereby preventing re-offending. The process relies more on reconciliation than punishment, with the underlying theory based on the idea that a well-functioning society is grounded in rights and responsibilities” (Restorative Justice, n.d.)