The department of safety and security receives the largest portion of the criminal justice budget. However, compared to the last budget year, the department of justice and constitutional development receives the greatest increase (22.6%). Considerably more than the 8.9% increase for both the department of safety and security and correctional services. The increase in expenditure on the latter two departments barely increases in real terms with annual inflation at around 8%. Moreover, the increase in expenditure on the department of justice and constitutional development is the greatest increase on that department since the 1997/98 budget year (Figure 2).

Justice

Much of the growth in spending on the department of justice and constitutional development can be attributed to a 73% increase in expenditure on ‘auxiliary and associated services’. This includes expenditure on diverse items such as the legal aid board, the human rights commission, the commission on gender equality, the national crime prevention strategy (NCPS) and capital works expenditure. Substantial increases in expenditure on the last two mentioned items reflect the department’s commitment to modernise the court process and to maintain and procure new courts and related infrastructure.

A significant increase in expenditure goes to the directorate of special operations (DSO), also known as the Scorpions, from R149 million in 2000/01 to R210 million in 2001/02, an increase of 41%. Expenditure on the national prosecuting authority (NPA) as a whole increases from R319 million in 2000/01 to R415 million in 2001/02, an increase of 30%. According to the department of finance’s medium-term expenditure estimate, expenditure on the national prosecuting authority is to increase by 32% between 2001/02 and 2003/04 (Figure 3).

The increase in spending on the national prosecuting authority is to be welcomed. The service performs a crucial role in the criminal justice system. The poor performance of the prosecution service over the last few years has contributed to the substantial increase in the number of awaiting trial prisoners. Moreover, an exodus of experienced prosecutors from the service, because of poor pay and working conditions, has resulted in many guilty accused walking free. This lowers police morale, and fosters public perceptions that crime pays.

Personnel costs

Although all three criminal justice departments allocate the bulk of their expenditure to personnel costs, the proportion spent on salaries has been decreasing in the department of safety and security and in justice over the past five years (Figure 4). Of the three departments, safety and security spends the largest portion of its budget on personnel followed by the department of correctional services and the justice department.

Additional allocations

During the budget process money above that projected in the previous budget may be allocated. In terms of the revised medium-term expenditure estimates an additional R4.1 billion will be made available to the three criminal justice departments between 2001/02 and 2003/04. The bulk of this money will go to safety and security (R2.3 billion), followed by justice (R1.2 billion) and correctional services with R641 million (Table 1).

The additional allocations should benefit the three departments as follows.

Department of safety and security:

improve the salaries of SAPS members

hire additional police personnel;

purchase new police vehicles;

upgrade police facilities; and

meet certain costs related to the purchasing of an automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS).

Department of justice and constitutional development:

recruit additional prosecutors and personnel for the directorate of special operations;

enhance the operations of the legal aid board;

improve the remuneration of judges;

build additional courts and maintain existing infrastructure; and

pay reparations to victims of gross human rights abuses.

The department of correctional services:

accommodate increased operational costs because of anticipated higher prisoner numbers; and

construct additional prison accommodation.

The budget is the government’s primary policy tool. As such an additional expenditure of R4.1 billion over the next three years could, if wisely spent, substantially improve the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.

It needs to be borne in mind, however, that there seems to be no direct link between state spending on the criminal justice system and levels of crime. Over the last ten budget years spending on the criminal justice system outpaced the inflation rate while the number of recorded crimes increased substantially, especially in the late 1990s.

Martin Schönteich
Institute for Security Studies