The National Prosecution Authority (NPA) says it is going to implement new strategies that will speed up the finalisation of court cases. The purpose is to ensure that justice is served speedily in the country.
Addressing the media in Mahikeng, in the North West, the NPA says this will help restore confidence in South Africa’s Justice System.
Legal practitioners held a joint conference with the South African Police Services (SAPS)and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks). Prosecutors, investigating officers and senior provincial and national leadership gathered to discuss strategies that will ensure that the fight against crime is intensified.
“We took from the presenters a lot of strategies that we intend to implement to intensify our focus as far as the prevention of crime is concerned. We also had a presentation from Free State where the chief prosecutor was outlining the good practices that they are involved in in the Free State to ensure that they intensify crime prevention,” says Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, North West Provincial Police Commissioner.
The North West Director of Public Prosecutions’ Dr Rachel Makhari-Sekhaolelo says it gives them no joy to see South Africans losing confidence in the justice system.
“Crime is ravaging our country. When I said it’s frustrating to see it on TV, I was trying to bring to the delegates to say let’s smell the coffee, people can’t take it anymore. We don’t want the public to take the law into their own hands when we are there; we have been mandated to do the work. Let’s reposition ourselves, let’s empower ourselves, let’s get the right ammunition, and let’s be fit for purpose,” says Makhari-Sekhaolelo.
Leaders of the NPA nationally say they will implement strategies that will ensure that court cases are handled efficiently and speedily to ensure that victims of crime don’t wait too long before justice is served.
“We are working very hard to find out how best we can move our cases much faster to ensure that our investigations are complete quicker and then how do we ensure that with the judiciary in the country, we are able to get cases finalised in a quicker way,” NPA’s Rodney De Kock says.
The law enforcement agencies say they will also enhance their collaboration to ensure that law and order are restored in communities.
