Hon Chairperson and hon Minister, the opening of the Sexual Offences Courts around the country plus the high conviction rates is commendable. However, it does not provide the solution
for the root causes of gender-based violence and femicide, as well as sexual offences in general.
Does the department have a plan to address the root causes and if so, what is it and how will the implementation be monitored and the impact be assessed? Thank you.
Hon
Chairperson, the initiatives to address the root causes of gender-based violence and femicide extend beyond the Department of Justice and Correctional Services and the Security Cluster and incorporate measures to address the social elements that breeds criminality needs the whole government, it needs the private sector, it needs civil society, it needs the NGOs and it needs everyone in society. It is a thing that all of us have to work together also to deal with the scourge of gender-based violence to deal with it. The department alone will not succeed.
It is for this reason that it is important that the security collaborate with other Cabinet clusters
including other social players in our society to deal and respond decisively to issues of patriarchy and gender relations in society. Thank you.
Hon House Chair and hon Minister, the articles issued after the national summit as you alluded to, also deal with Sexual Offences Courts and obviously it is to be welcomed that an additional 19 has been opened after the summit.
However, the fact is that the roll out of the newest model of the Sexual Offences Courts which ought to be in line with your vision as spelled out here today. More victim-centred depends in its totality on the regulations dealing with Sexual Offences Courts which have now been in process for months.
The department informed the portfolio committee that there is now a target dates of January next year, for the promulgation of these regulations. However, your department also have a history and one thinks of the Maintenance Amendment Bill of 2015 ...
Hon member, your time is now up. Please ask your question?
... where regulations do not get implemented upon promulgation. What are you doing to ensure that it will be implemented upon promulgation in January 2020?
Hon
House Chairperson, it is true that the last time you asked the question there were still awaiting the concurrence of the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice has now concurred with the regulations. They are now being properly clarified and verified through the Office of State Attorney and the State Law Advisor so that it meets all the constitutional requirements, so that by the time we reach the moment of action in January or promulgation, we are able to put them in action. So, that is what we are currently doing and in the process of ensuring that we deal with all the hindrances. Thank you.
Hon Chair, in fact, she was trying to press for me. So you have been a Sangoma in detecting that. [Laughter.]
Thank you, Mr Minister. I see that when it comes to crimes outside the Cluster of Peace and Security, you have your own reasons why you will consider departments outside that cluster. Among the departments is the Department of Health.
Will you please share with the House your considerations why it was necessary to have this direct relationship between the Department of Justice and Correctional Services and the Health Department? Thank you.
Hon
House Chairperson, indeed we need various role-players to help us with the fight against crime. The Departments of Social Development, Health, Basic Education and various departments do play a very important role in helping us on that regard through expertise and various things that we need. For most of the victims start in hospitals, so they must be able to be received and the statements must be able to reflect as they engage with the police and the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA. So, it is a very important collaboration of the two departments and the other relevant departments. Thank you.
Hon House Chair and the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, you do not sit far away from the Minister of Home Affairs. The Minister of Home Affairs is able to track all of us in terms of fingerprints. All of us here in this House have fingerprints. However, when we go to the police, when they take fingerprints, they will tell you that they can only trace the fingerprints that are on the database.
Now, both of you and all of you are from the same party, same WhatsApp group that is what my learned friends are saying. Now, it clearly shows that there is no integration between all of you.
So, my question is: When and how soon can you implement that such that all of us our fingerprints are in the police database? I do not know where that database is and why is it different from the home affairs, where is it situated? However can it be accessible such that the Departments of Police and the NPA and Home Affairs can share the same database? Please.
Hon
Chairperson, I will use my discretion to answer the question, because, indeed we are supposed to be in an integrated platform, with home affairs, the police, NPA and the correctional services.
We now have what is called the Integrated Justice Management System which is aimed to achieve exactly what the hon member is asking. So it has achieved the first phase where the police are now able to move a statement from their own workplace to where they can communicate directly through the statement with the NPA. There is also a process to link the home affairs fingerprints or biometric that they are using, but that also needs some amendments of legislation which the Minister of Home Affairs is better placed to speak to.
However, there is indeed the process that is aimed to ensure that there is that integration. Not only for the police, but for home affairs, police, the NPA, up until to the correctional services, because the interaction of human beings have proven to have a lot of challenges where somebody could be arrested and you may not be able
to pick immediately or in real-time that the person has a conviction.
There could also be challenges at the correctional services when you transport the inmates into the courts for hearings. A wrong inmate may jump into the truck and so forth. So, it needs this integration. So, it is a programme that we are currently working with the Minister of Police, Home Affairs and the entire cluster to ensure that this integration does happen in real-time and it becomes a reality because it has proven that without this automated technology, we will not be able to deal with some of the sophisticated networks of crime in the country.
So, we will update this House as soon as we have clear dates of timelines and deliverables. [Time expired.]
Question 218:
Gangsterism is an issue faced by our country which has also manifested in correctional centres, and it is increasingly impacting on our communities. On admission,
inmates are reprofiled and assessed to identify offenders linked to community gangs or gang affiliation in correctional centres.
Nongang members are separated from nongangs, older offenders and vulnerable offenders in order to discourage gang activities. Unannounced searches are conducted to remove unauthorised items and contrabands. The department is also researching on how to limit cellphone usage in our facilities through cellphone detection system.
The Correctional Sentences Plan is an operation to outline the relevant correctional programmes to be attended by the offenders to address their criminal behaviour. The Department of Correctional Services implemented a multidisciplinary strategy in its operations which has resulted in an overwhelming number of offenders participating in various rehabilitation programmes.
We have compulsory rehabilitation programmes for sentenced offenders, which includes but not limited to: New Beginnings, where we offer life skills- based training
and empowering offenders for transition and adjustment into the correctional centre. We also offer anger management, anger in and anger out. This programme assists the offenders to move away from old habits associated with aggression and learn healthy ways of dealing with anger management.
Changing lanes programmes, for offenders sentenced for murder. This programme assists the offenders in understanding the link between murder related offences and weapons. It also assists offenders to implement a personal action plan to change their behaviour and attitudes related to the offence committed.
There are also female programmes that create conscience around females involved in gangs, youth programmes, prerelease programmes to prepare offenders for successful reintegration into society. There is also behavioural modification which is more crucial as it seeks to encourage reassociation and resocialisation of inmates from participating in nongang related activities.
It also equips the correctional inmates to recognise when they are being groomed for gangs and to cope in a correctional facility without gang affiliation. Thank you
IsiXhosa:
Sendikhona Sihlalo ohloniphekileyo, enkosi Mphathiswa. Izidlwengu nababulali bayadakasa phaya ejele yile nkqubo yenu ebizwa i- Anger in and Anger out. Umbuzo wam uthi ...
English:
... are you confident that the measures that the measures that you have shared with us here are going to yield results to break down this stubborn culture of gangs in prisons, as well as eradicating the contrabands that are there? Thank you.
IsiZulu: