Courts are understaffed and court rolls clogged to such an extent that cases are continuously postponed with a knock-on effect on the number of awaiting-trial prisoners kept in deplorable conditions of overcrowding.

The problems in the various links in the criminal justice system, from the arrest by an investigating police officer to the prosecutor to the correctional services officer to the interpreter, judicial officer and defence lawyer, remain a challenge. A delay in any one of these links severely affects the whole chain and adds to the backlog of cases.

The ACDP supports an integrated approach whereby the four key departments: Safety and Security, Justice, Correctional Services and Welfare, take responsibility for the success of the systems by means of binding interdepartmental protocols. Such protocols will serve to enhance and strengthen the existing integrated justice system court centres. Notwithstanding these many and various challenges, however, the ACDP will support this Budget Vote. I thank you.