Mashatile: Declining public confidence in criminal justice system concerning

JOHANNESBURG - Deputy President Paul Mashatile says it’s concerning that public confidence in the country’s criminal justice system is declining.

He was speaking at the opening of the three day conference reviewing the criminal procedure act, underway in Boksburg.

Government says the review of the Criminal Procedure Act is aimed at creating an accessible, effective and modern criminal justice system that ensures a fair and just resolution of for both criminals and their victims.

Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, says crime persists despite the many strategies government has devised to fight it.

"In other words, our people do not feel safe and secure. As a result, over the next few months, the JCPS cluster is strategically planning key interventions from multiple departments to address the prevailing crime situation. These efforts will notably focus on combating violent and organised crime," says Mashatile. 

Meanwhile, Police Minister Bheki Cele has criticised the lack of protection for witnesses and the release of known criminals, something he says angers communities.

"But also people that get bail time and again, they encourage vigilantism. Because people will say, there’s no use, because you go to court you come back, you go to court and people taken into their hands. On things that cause murder now, vigilantism has become third," says Cele.

National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi says the review should help strengthen the law, and prosecute even those who try to evade justice.

"But also, many of the accused people, are actually powerful people with a lot of money and they usually utilise the hashing the framework in order to delay the administration of justice, and I think if those issues can be addressed, so that we’ve people that are less able to adopt Stalingrant tactics to use the system to delay justice," says Batohi.

The conference continues on Wednesday and some of the topics up for discussion is the role of digitisation in strengthening the criminal justice system.