In other words, Deputy Speaker, a total of 63,8% in financial years 2006-07 or 59,2% in financial years 2007-08 of all crimes investigated never reached court. Of the 6,5 million "most serious crimes" in the criminal justice system, for the period 2001 to 2006, a total of 4,4 million or 68% of cases were undetected or withdrawn before reaching court.
In addition, the current legislation scheme as set out in section 37 of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977 does not make the taking of fingerprints compulsory, even in instances where a person has been convicted of an offence. Therefore, the manner in which fingerprints are currently collected, loaded onto the SAPS's fingerprint database and used, means that a fingerprint lifted at a crime scene will most likely only be checked against the limited number of fingerprints of convicted offenders, which have been included in that database.
The purpose, therefore, of this Bill is to address all these shortcomings by ensuring that the SAPS will have access to the fingerprint databases of other government departments for criminal investigations only, and by expanding police powers to take and retain fingerprints, body prints and photographic images of persons charged with, or convicted of, offences.
With these objectives in mind, the Bill amends Chapter 3 of the Criminal Procedures Act as well as the South African Police Services Act of 1995, the Firearms Control Act of 2000 and the Explosives Act of 2003.
The new provisions contain strict safeguards and penalties to ensure that fingerprints, body prints and photographic images are collected, stored and used only for purposes related to the detection of crime, the investigation of an offence, the identification of missing persons and the identification of unidentified human remains or conducting a prosecution.
Care has thus been taken to strike an appropriate balance between an individual's rights to dignity and privacy as entrenched in sections 10 and 14 of our Constitution, and the legitimate demand by the public that the police must pursue the objectives of preventing, combating and investigating crime; maintaining public order; protecting and securing the inhabitants of the Republic and their property; and also upholding and enforcing the law as set out in section 205(3) of our Constitution.
Care has also been taken to safeguard the rights of children who are suspected or accused of having committed an offence by providing that whenever prints are taken from a child the police officials must have a due regard for the personal rights relating to privacy, dignity and bodily integrity of the child; and to do so in private, not in view of the public; and also ensure the presence of a parent, a guardian, a social worker or an appropriate person; and treat and address the child in a manner that takes into account his or her gender and age.
The Bill does not constitute an ad hoc or random measure aimed at enhancing the SAPS's capacity to achieve the objectives that I have highlighted. It forms part of the greater objective of the review of the criminal justice system which is a work in progress.
Moreover, it is a further manifestation of the government's commitment to the combating of crime, a commitment that is reflected in the 2009 Elections Manifesto of the ruling party, the ANC, which under the heading, "Together intensify the fight against crime and corruption", amongst other things has stated the following:
Fighting crime and fighting the causes of crime will be a priority of the ANC government in the next five years and there is a need to overhaul the criminal justice system to ensure that the levels of crime are drastically reduced. Corruption must be stamped out.
The ANC government will:
Establish a new, modernised, efficient and transformed criminal justice system ...
And it will -
Actively combat serious and violent crime by being tougher on criminals and organised syndicates.
I call on all hon members of the House to support us towards achieving these objectives. I move that we do so. Thank you, Deputy Speaker.