Madam Speaker, in the ANC's 8 January Statement, we said that crime is a national concern and that much more needs to be done to fight crime. One could very well argue that crime, along with poverty, inequality and HIV/Aids, is possibly among the biggest challenges facing our country at this moment. There has been a very real plea from our communities to be safe from crime, and our people are specifically looking to the ANC government for help. We have listened to them and we have heard their pleas.
Parliament recently embarked on extensive public hearings throughout the country on the review of the criminal justice system. Communities were given an opportunity to directly raise their concerns about crime and to voice the problems that they are experiencing on a daily basis with the criminal justice system.
The only way to ensure that criminals are caught, taken to court, prosecuted and sentenced is to have an effective, modernised and transformed criminal justice system. The ANC, in its election manifesto, envisages such a new and modernised criminal justice system. This will see the bringing together of all role-players, such as the judiciary, the magistracy, the police, prosecutors, Correctional Services, the Legal Aid Board and community policing forums. It is envisaged that the review will bring about significant progress in fighting crime and in reversing current crime trends.
We are pleased to see in the Budget that an amount of R3 billion has been allocated for restructuring the criminal justice service over the medium term. The importance of this allocation is that it reflects the political will of the ANC-led government to fight crime effectively. But these are, after all, public funds; it's R3 billion. We need to ask ourselves as parliamentarians what we are getting for our R3 billion and how this R3 billion allocation will help our people on a daily basis. These funds provide for the expanding of the criminal DNA database, accelerating the roll-out of national fingerprint and case-management systems and upgrading IT networks.
With regard to the criminal justice system, an intensive seven-point plan of interventions was drawn up. The review will entail adopting a single vision and mission for all the departments within the criminal justice cluster, which means that departments will not be working in isolation but will have a single set of objectives and priorities. Draft recommendations are also envisaged with regard to new or amended legislative measures that will include the functioning of the criminal justice service initially and very effectively. These recommendations include draft legislation to regulate minimum standards for the cash-in-transit industry, draft legislation for the continuation of a trial in certain circumstances in the absence of the accused, and also draft legislation to allow and regulate access to fingerprints to all law enforcement agencies.
When we visited the various provinces, our people spoke to us about courts and the problems that they experience when dealing with our courts. Once again, the ANC has heard them. Existing court processes in criminal matters will be transformed so as to improve the performance of our courts. New processes will ensure that courts are focused on trials, rather than on administrative processes such as postponements, and will result in a significant reduction in backlogs and in case cycle times.
Other creative initiatives would be the establishment of a Legal Aid Board Court and a new screening mechanism that will ensure that only prima facie cases and cases that are actually ready to proceed to trial are indeed proceeded with. This is important, because our people have told us in the public hearings that very often they need to travel great distances to go to court, either as complainants or as witnesses, and that when they get to court the matter is simply postponed.
A further important aspect is that of improved capacity. The recommendation will result in a substantial increase in the number of crime scene experts and forensic experts. In fact, an additional R750 million has been provided to the Department of Safety and Security so as to increase the number of police officials from 183 000 to 204 00 by 2011, with the emphasis being on increased detective and forensic capacity.
The focus will be on accelerated detective training and increasing the number of detectives. It will also include measures to retain and attract skilled personnel by providing for an occupation-specific dispensation. In addition, senior detectives will be placed in designated courts to oversee the quality of investigations and dockets. This also includes the strengthening of our organised-crime-fighting capacity, criminal crime fighting and crime intelligence capacity.
We need to establish an integrated and seamless criminal justice information system and we need to modernise all systems and equipment. The modernisation of systems will also include the fast-tracking of existing modernisation projects, which include initiatives such as a digital recording system to be used in our courts, video postponement of court cases, with links between our prisons and our courts so that you initially minimise the risk of flight between your correctional centres and your courts, as well as an automated inmate tracking system. Other new initiatives include the electronic system of capturing of dockets. Many people will know that very often when you go to court, a case cannot be proceeded with because the docket has either gone missing or has been stolen, and, obviously, electronic capturing of dockets will rule out this problem.
The resolution of the 52nd national conference of the ANC re-emphasises community participation in the fight against crime. When we visited the various provinces we were once again reminded of this important fact. The ANC has heard what our communities have to say and therefore we are proposing very innovative amendments to our community policing forums. What we are proposing is that our community policing forums be given financial and administrative support and that they also have a wider role, for example in policing and in interacting with parole boards.
The fight against crime requires both government and our communities to work together. Communities must be vigilant when it comes to the reporting of criminal activity, but, at the same time, our law-enforcement agencies must respond to the needs of our people and be able to offer witnesses and complainants the necessary protection, particularly when they are afraid to report crimes or when they are afraid to be witnesses in court proceedings. Our court processes should be aligned to make it easier for victims and must at all times minimise any secondary trauma experienced in the court process. In this regard, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has put together a very useful service charter for victims of crime, which is an important instrument to promote justice for all our people.
What our people mentioned to us at the public hearings, was that they very often feel that victims of crime have fewer rights than the criminals. That is why the Victims' Charter is so important, because it very usefully explains the rights of victims and provides information on the various services that are available to victims and survivors of crime. This includes the right that a complainant has to be informed of the status of their case, whether or not an accused has been arrested; whether or not the person has been charged; whether or not bail has been granted; and if a matter is being postponed, what the reason is for the postponement.
A complainant also has the right to protection and to be free from intimidation and harassment and, under certain circumstances, to be placed in a witness protection programme or for the matter to be held in camera. Other rights that victims have include the right to assistance, the right to compensation and, in certain cases, the right to restitution.
What we need to do is to really make victims of crime aware of their rights. If they are not aware of their rights, they simply cannot exercise them. We have to think of creative ways in bringing this Victims' Charter to the attention of our people, possibly putting it in our parliamentary constituency offices, giving it to our community development workers, giving it to Thusong Service Centres and the like, to really make it accessible to people.
With regard to the protection of our vulnerable groups, R150 million has been allocated for the implementation of the Child Justice Bill and the sexual offences legislation. With regard to other departments in our cluster, the hon Bloem will be very pleased to note that the Department of Correctional Services has received funding for four new correctional centres at Paarl, East London, Klerksdorp and Polokwane, which will be able to accommodate a further 12 000 inmates. [Interjections.] The Department of Defence has received an additional R80 million to expand its reserve force to supplement its landward defence capability. It is therefore with pride that the ANC supports the Appropriation Bill.
Finally, as many members may very well know, I have taken the decision to return to the legal profession while I can still remember how to be a lawyer. Therefore this is my very last speech in the House. I would really like to thank, in particular, the ANC and to my committee ...