National Prosecuting Authority Briefing to Parliament by the National Director of Public Prosecutions

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National Prosecuting Authority Briefing to
Parliament by the National Director of Public
Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka 17-18 June 2004

• Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) Directorate of
  Special Operations (Scorpions) National
  Prosecutions Service (NPS) Specialised
  Commercial Crime Unit (SCCU) Sexual Offences
  Community Affairs Unit (SOCA) Witness
  Protection Unit (WPU) . Priority Crimes
  Litigation Unit (PLCU) . Integrity Management
  Unit (IMU) . Corporate Services (CS)

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THE YEAR THAT WAS Performance and Achievements
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INTRODUCTION

• I am once again honoured to report on the work
  of the NPA during 2003/2004 financial year.
• This year is of particular significance as we
  report in a time when the country is celebrating
  10 years of democracy and freedom and the NPA
  is celebrating 5 years of its existence and
  service excellence to the people of South
  Africa.

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INTRODUCTION

• We have achieved most of the objectives we have
  set and are continuing to seek innovative ways
  to deal with crime.
• We have remained committed to our vision
  Justice in our society so that people can live
  in freedom and security and to the legal
  principle that compels the NPA to perform its
  functions without fear, favour or prejudice.

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National Prosecution Service Providing
effective, efficient and credible prosecution
services

• Has been a progressive increase in the total
  number of court hours in all the Courts over the
  past 4 years.
• In the High Courts there were a slight
  increase 2001/2002 325
• 2002/2003 328
• 2003/2004 329
• The Regional Courts increased from 4h11 to 4h12
  and 3h53 to 3h56 in Periodical Courts.

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National Prosecution Service Providing
effective, efficient and credible prosecution
services

• District Court hours exceeded 4h00 per day
  (except for December 2003 and January 2004).
• The Conviction rates have improved
  significantly
• High Courts
• 2001/2002 77
• 2002/2003 82
• 2003/2004 87

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National Prosecution Service Providing
effective, efficient and credible prosecution
services

• The 2002/2003 target for convictions in the
  District Courts were exceeded
• 2002/2003 84
• 2003/2004 86
• The Regional Courts achieved a 70 conviction
  rate.
• Also of significance is the decline in number
  of withdrawals in the District Courts 54 483
  less cases than 2002/2003.
• No case no enrolment policy seems to be
  working.

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National Prosecution Service Providing
effective, efficient and credible prosecution
services

• Specialist Courts Sexual Offences
• Child Abuse Courts finalised 4254 cases in
  2003/2004 compared to 2283 cases during
  2002/2003.
• 29 271 sexual offences cases finalised 70
  rape, 13 indecent assault, 7 attempted rape
  and 3 statutory rape.
• Conviction rates were as follows
• High Courts 85.
• Regional Courts 42
• Sexual Offences Courts 62

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National Prosecution Service Providing
effective, efficient and credible prosecution
services

• Specialist Courts
• Saturday and Additional Courts
• Since its implementation in 2001, total of 57
  214 cases have been finalised.
• Hi-jacking Courts
• Finalised 162 cases in the first 5 months and
  have exceeded the finalisation rate (of 8 cases
  per month) by finalising 20 cases per court per
  month.
• Conviction rate for 2003/4 was 78, which is 8
  higher than the conviction rate of cases in the
  Regional Courts (70).

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National Prosecution Service Providing
effective, efficient and credible prosecution
services

• Bank Robbery/Cash-in-transit Courts
• These cases have been prioritised in specific
  courts since September 2003.
• 100 cases, with 60 relating to bank robberies
  and 40 to cash-in-transit robberies.
• 7 cases were finalised with a conviction rate
  of 86.

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National Prosecution Service Providing
effective, efficient and credible prosecution
services

• Specialist Courts Drug Court
• Specialist Drug Court to deal with all
  drug-related cases established in Durban January
  2003.
• Court has been very successful finalised 1537
  cases during 2003/2004.
• Average conviction rate of 98.

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National Prosecution Service Providing
effective, efficient and credible prosecution
services

• Specialist Courts Environmental Courts
• Established in Hermanus in mid-February 2003 to
  focus on abalone and crayfish cases.
• 114 cases were finalised during February 2003
  January 2004.
• An average conviction rate of 68 was achieved.
• A second specialist court was launched on 23
  February 2004 to focus on abalone cases.

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National Prosecution Service Providing
effective, efficient and credible prosecution
services

• Plea bargaining and Sentence Agreements
• Increased our efforts to negotiate plea and
  sentence agreements.
• Special Commercial Crimes Court recorded that
  more than 60 of their cases the accused entered
  into plea and sentence agreements.
• Total of 220 cases in the NPS were finalised
  through plea bargaining.

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National Prosecution Service Providing
effective, efficient and credible prosecution
services

• Specialist Courts Community Court Hatfield
• First Community Court of its kind established
  in collaboration with various role players.
• Showed early success first month of its
  operation, 264 cases were finalised with a 99
  conviction rate.

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Directorate of Special Operations Fighting
organised crime

• DSO has finalised a number of investigations
  and prosecutions with major impact. The
  following can be highlighted as examples of
  successes achieved by the DSO
• (a) Drugs valued at more than R1billion were
  confiscated from Chinese syndicates 107 arrests
  and 41 prosecutions resulted. The social costs
  of the drugs confiscated amounted to more than
  R2billion.

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Directorate of Special Operations Fighting
organised crime
(b) R100million estate fraud successfully
investigated and prosecuted (Halgryn). (c)
Golden Arrow Bus-case, the accused was convicted
on subsidy fraud and the directors and company
paid fines of R6million and R6million into CARA.
R45million was paid to the Department of
Transport. (d) 17 convictions in the RAF cases
achieved through plea bargaining have bolstered
the image of RAF to deal with internal
corruption.
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Directorate of Special Operations Fighting
organised crime
(e) The conviction of 5 officials in the
Department of Marine and Coastal Management and
5 fishing bosses in the Western Cape has gone a
long way to clean up the fishing industry. (f)
Inroads into foreign crime syndicates using
financial institutions are being made. Assets
of R8.9million have been forfeited and
confiscated in respect of suspicious
transaction from a Netherlands Bank.
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Directorate of Special Operations Fighting
organised crime
(g) 61 individuals purported to be from West
African origin arrested for advance fee fraud
using the Internet.(S v Williams S v Adodamo S
v Uguckukiwu). (h) 7 syndicates were disrupted
when 18 of their members (operating in SA,
Europe and North America) were convicted for
racketeering and money laundering. Assets to the
value of R8.9million were confiscated.
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Directorate of Special Operations Fighting
organised crime
(i) S v M Booysen S v R Staggie S v P
Paulsen Multiple life and other terms of
imprisonment arising from the prosecution of
gang leaders. (j) S v F Samsodien S v A
Abrahams and S v L Sapat urban terror
convictions in Cape Town increased the sense of
safety.
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Directorate of Special Operations Fighting
organised crime
(k) In the area of corruption 30 high-level
investigations are underway, involving
procurement, law enforcement, investments and
state loans. (l) In Cape Town, Hillstar
prosecution S v Mills and Others charges of
corrupt procurement and services that threatened
to paralyse the Hillstar Traffic Department of
the City Council. Long term sentences have been
imposed coupled with an asset forfeiture order of
R1.636million. This intervention saved the
Council approximately R8million over last 2 years.
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Directorate of Special Operations Fighting
organised crime
(m) The conviction of Augusta for corrupt
influence in the Western Cape Provincial
Government to fast- track a major estate
development exposed the corrupt schemes of
certain multi-nationals entrepreneurs exploiting
weaknesses in systems. (n) The prosecution in S
v Park Ross and Others demonstrated our ability
to tackle corruption and fraud arising from
complex corporate agreements. (o) In S v Ngubo
life imprisonment was imposed for murder in the
Natal Midlands, which dented political violence
in the area.
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Directorate of Special Operations Fighting
organised crime

• Involved in investigations with contraband
  yield of R1.15billion.
• Assets under restraint R1 32.409million.
• In terms of its asset forfeiture contribution
  to CARA, more than 65 to the current account
  was made by the Unit.
• Achieved a conviction rate of 94.
• Finalised 205 investigations and 189 major
  prosecutions.
• Arrested 290 persons, searched 153 premises and
  conducted 193 entrapment operations.

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Asset Forfeiture Unit Taking the profit out of
crime

• Some of the key objectives
• Develop the law test cases and legal
  precedence
• Build capacity establish a national presence
• Impact on selected categories of organised
  crime
• Build relationships with key partners eg SAPS
• Over past five years AFU has frozen assets
  valued at nearly R700million in terms of 500
  orders.
• 243 orders granted thus far and applications
  involving R116million have been finalised.
• R55million has been deposited into CARA.

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Asset Forfeiture Unit Taking the profit out of
crime

• The number of cases has grown at a rate of 65
  per annum over the last 4 years.
• The value involved in the cases, increased by
  25 per annum.
• The number of finalised cases increased from 73
  to 124.
• The amount involved in these cases increased
  from R15million to R53million.

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Asset Forfeiture Unit Taking the profit out of
crime

• Over R100million has been returned to the
  victims of crime.
• In two of its most important matters, attorneys
  Mohammed and Chohan who allegedly defrauded poor
  accident victims, the AFU has already seized
  property worth R10million.
• The AFU has also made an impact on selected
  priority crimes.
• Examples of these cases are
• (a) Seizure of cash associated with drug trade-
  6 cases have been initiated in cooperation with
  SAPS involving approx. R10million.

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Asset Forfeiture Unit Taking the profit out of
crime
(b) Natural Resources- Joint effort between
SAPS, DSO and Department of Environmental
Affairs have targeted the serious threat of
natural resources, nationally. Almost 50 cases
have been done, involving property worth
R70million. The Eagle Star, trawler that was
forfeited in Houtbay Fishing matter was sold to
Coastal Management for patrol purposes.
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Asset Forfeiture Unit Taking the profit out of
crime
(c) Corruption About 30 restraint orders have
been obtained involving R8.5million and
confiscation orders totaling R1milion have been
obtained in the JACTT operation in the Eastern
Cape.
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Asset Forfeiture Unit Taking the profit out of
crime
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Asset Forfeiture Unit Taking the profit out of
crime
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Asset Forfeiture Unit Taking the profit out of
crime

• Regional office has been established in Cape
  Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth. A
  presence in Bloemfontein, East London and
  Kimberley has also been established to ensure an
  increase in the volume of cases and the more
  widespread use of asset forfeiture tools
  throughout the country.
• AFU has been very effective in its cooperation
  with other law enforcement agencies, SAPS and
  the DSO and setting up of special Task Teams in
  each province. Increased cooperation with the
  SIU has also been achieved.

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Specialised Commercial Crime Unit Fighting
commercial crime

• The SCCU is continuing its excellent
  performance and has even surpassed vital targets
  in respect of service delivery. It has also
  improved on its average court hours with 3.29
  at Pretoria and Johannesburg Courts since its
  last reporting period.
• The Unit achieved a conviction rate of 94.97.
• 21 plea and sentence agreements have been
  successfully concluded in Pretoria and 16 in
  Johannesburg.

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Specialised Commercial Crime Unit Fighting
commercial crime

• SCCU has also been active in the JACTT project
  and finalised all matters allocated to them with
  impressive sentences being imposed, the longest
  term imposed was 60 years.
• The SCCU has conducted its prosecutions without
  fear favour or prejudice. Let me highlight some
  of the cases.

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Specialised Commercial Crime Unit Fighting
commercial crime

• Highlights of Cases
• S v Ramsey the accused, an accountant was
  convicted of 17 charges of fraud and sentenced
  to 10 years, suspended for 5 years of
  imprisonment.
• S v Letshufi, a medical doctor convicted of 92
  counts of fraud against the Road Accident Fund
  and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
• S v Potgieter, accused was convicted of 142
  counts of fraud against the Road Accident Fund
  and sentenced to 12 years of which 3 years were
  suspended.

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Specialised Commercial Crime Unit Fighting
commercial crime

• S v Mataka Deputy Commissioner of
  Correctional Services was convicted of insurance
  fraud and sentenced to R30 000 or 12 months,
  plus 4 years suspended for 5 years.
• S v Alexander Accused was convicted in the
  High Court on various counts of fraud and
  theft pertaining to the purchasing of second
  hand policies. He was convicted and sentenced
  to more than 100 years of imprisonment.

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Priority Crimes Litigating Unit Fighting
priority crime

• The Priority Crimes litigating Unit was
  established in March 2003 to deal with serious
  national and international crimes, particularly,
  offences contemplated in the Implementation of
  the Rome Statute of the International Crime
  Court Act, terrorism and related offences, and
  offences relating to foreign military crimes.
• The Unit is also prioritising the cases arising
  from the TRC.

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Priority Crimes Litigating Unit Fighting
priority crime

• A number of TRC cases have been identified for
  prosecution.
• A number of cases are being investigated in
  conjunction with SAPS relating to the
  non- proliferation of weapons of mass
  destruction.

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Priority Crimes Litigating Unit Fighting
priority crime

• Investigations into security services being
  performed in contravention of the Foreign
  Military Assistance Act in Iraq are under way.
• The Unit also completed a few successful
  prosecutions
• (a) a former employee of arms manufacturer, RDI
  was convicted in March 2004 of supplying
  Pakistan with conventional arms technology and
  received a substantial fine. A compensatory
  order was also made in favour of RDI.

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Priority Crimes Litigating Unit Fighting
priority crime
(b) Roget, a SA citizen of French origin was
convicted in November 2003 for recruiting
mercenaries for the Ivory Coast and sentenced to
a fine of R100 000. (c) In February 2004,
Alberts a South African citizen was convicted of
mercenary activities in the Ivory coast and was
sentenced to a fine of R20 000.
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Sexual Offences and Community Affairs
Unit Ending violent crimes against women and
children

• SOCA is playing a key role in reducing
  secondary victimisation in sexual offences case.
• Sexual Offences Courts have been increased from
  39 since the last reporting period to 51.
• The Thuthuzela Care Centres which provide a one
  stop service centre for victims of sexual
  violence, remain the flagship of the Unit. There
  are currently 5 TCCs and two more are planned
  for Bloemfontein and KZN.

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Sexual Offences and Community Affairs
Unit Ending violent crimes against women and
children

• Our efforts in diverting young children
  involved in criminal activities are continuing-
  During January 2003- December 2003 a total of 18
  222 diversions occurred.

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Witness Protection Unit Protecting vulnerable
and intimidated witnesses

• The most important measure of success of the
  WPU is whether any witnesses or family in
  protection has been harmed or assassinated. We
  can proudly report that no witness or family
  members suffered this fate.
• The number of witnesses into the programme has
  progressively increased
• 2001/2002 296 (and 319 extended family members)
• 2002/2003 375 (and 360 extended family members)
• 2003/2004 422 (and 443 extended family members)

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Witness Protection Unit Protecting vulnerable
and intimidated witnesses

• In 2002/2003 114 witnesses testified in 87
  cases, which led to 141 convictions. In
  2003/2004 132 witnesses testified in 126
  cases, which led to 218 convictions.
• There has also been an improvement in the
  success rate of relocating witnesses
• 2001/2002 success rate was 50
• 2002/2003 success rate was 70 (an
  improvement of 20)
• 2003/2004 success rate improved to 90 (an
  improvement of 20).

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Integrity Management Unit Enhancing the
integrity of the NPA

• IMU is a newly established Unit to maintain the
  integrity of the NPA and to ensure that its not
  compromised, especially in its systems and
  processes.
• The Unit has been active in receiving reports
  from the hotline services of the Department of
  Justice (there are, however, shortcomings
  hampering its effectiveness in this regard.)
• Also actively pursuing investigations referred
  to it by Units within the NPA.

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Corporate Services Excellence in service
delivery

• Corporate Services had to deal with major
  challenges to improve service delivery.
• Chief Executive Officer (as Accounting
  Officer)assumed greater responsibility to
  facilitate the formulation of organisational
  strategy and strategic alignment of all the NPA
  Units.

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Corporate Services Excellence in service
delivery

• Corporate Services initiated and implemented a
  number of key projects, for example
• (a) Performance Budgeting System (PBS) The
  2004/5 NPA budget will be performance-based. To
  ensure appropriate resource allocation aligned
  with NPAs strategic objectives.  
• (b)Financial ManagementInternal controls have
  been tightened and policies were developed where
  they were lacking.
•  
•  

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Corporate Services Excellence in service
delivery
(c)Performance Management System A new
Performance Management System was developed
which is being implemented throughout the
NPA. (d)Competency-based recruitment - To
ensure that the right people for the right jobs
are employed to improve service delivery.
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EQUITY PROFILE

• We are constantly reviewing our equity profile
  to ensure compliance with the Employment Equity
  Act.
• We have complied generally with the
  requirements of the Act and efforts are
  continuously made to ensure compliance in those
  areas where we are lacking.
• The equity profile of the NPA and that of
  senior and middle management are as follows

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THE YEAR AHEAD Challenges
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The Year Ahead The Challenges

• We started 2004 with the knowledge that there
  is a bigger battle to be fought and won in
  courts that is the battle against crime.
• The transformation of the NPA will be key for
  the year ahead to ensure that the organisation
  is positioned to take on the challenges of the
  future.
• The transformation for the NPAs internal
  environment will be based on 5 pillars
• (i) people management
• (ii) partner management

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The Year Ahead The Challenges

• (iii) operational excellence
• (iv) governance and
• (v) customer management.
• The NPA external environment will also be
  assessed, which will cover the broader criminal
  justice system and crime.
• Also identified a number of quick-wins in
  the organisation and delivered on most of them.

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The Year Ahead The Challenges

• We will also be undertaking additional key
  initiatives
• (a) address the publics fear of crime by
  dealing with crimes that affect the quality of
  life of people and serious crime. In line
  with the Presidents Directive in his State of
  the Nation Address, Community Courts and Special
  Joint Teams will be established to deal with
  the crimes, respectively. Progress is underway.

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The Year Ahead The Challenges
(b) Establish Victims Support Services
Programmes in line with the Presidents
directive. (c) Strengthen co-operation and
relations between NPA and other law enforcement
agencies. This is being addressed in our
Transformation Project on Partner Management.
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CONCLUSION

• Building on the successes of the past five
  years - the NPA's transformation process and the
  initiatives identified for the next reporting
  period, will not only bring us closer to our
  vision but will also result in greater job
  satisfaction amongst the employees and the
  growth of the NPA as a learning organisation.

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CONCLUSION

• As we take the NPA into the next five years and
  beyond, we remind ourselves of the values and
  principles, which have come to define the NPA
  during the past five years, namely, that
• (a)the NPA, as part of the broader
  constitutional dispensation, is dedicated to
  contribute to reshaping the notion of justice in
  our new society
• (b)we promote a human rights culture in our
  investigation and prosecution processes as
  prosecutors in the post-apartheid criminal
  justice system we are redefining the role of the
  prosecutor to become human rights activists in
  the criminal justice system

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CONCLUSION
(c)we uphold the rule of law and preserve what
is regarded as the essence of modern day
justice, of equality before the law. It is at
times when the fabric of our society is most
threatened by crime, that we most strongly
observe the rule of law (d)we strive to have a
prosecution service that is responsive to the
needs of our new South African society
and (e)we are promoting the fair treatment of
victims of crime, especially victims of sexual
violence.
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I thank you.