According to current victims’ services policies in South Africa, victims of crime generally have the right to request information about the status of their case, but do not have the automatic right to receive that information without asking for it. So we currently place the burden on the victim to fill in a form, pay a fee, and generally ask nicely, before they hear what the criminal justice system is up to. Of course, it goes on after that … parole of the convicted person, release back into the community. Surely it is hard enough to get your life back together after being a victim of a serious crime, without having to leave messages for detectives with hapless sounding receptionists?
It isn’t that no one has thought of it — for example, the Minimum Standards on Services for Victims of Crime for Implementing the [Victim’s Charter] in South Africa says an accused may appeal against a conviction and the sentence imposed by the court. If an appeal is filed, you may ask the prosecutor in the original case, or the state advocate dealing with the appeal, to be kept informed of further developments in the case, for example, the date set for the appeal hearing, whether the accused has been granted bail, and the result of the appeal.
But telling you can ask for information, in a document no one ever sees, doesn’t really leave the ordinary victim in a position to make those requests. Would it be better to put the responsibility on the prosecutor to tell you this? Or even just give you a little pamphlet explaining this? Follow the debate on http://victimempowermentsa.wordpress.com/
As in many cases the law is impregnable for an ordinary person. It’s hard to know where to start and unless you know what piece of information you’re looking for, or that you’re owed certain information about your case, it’s hard to know who to ask or where to turn.
There is a dire need for someone to simplify the law into bite sized chunks so that ordinary people can read and understand it.
This debate is pointless until the police show more interest in catching the criminals first. From recent experience it seems the onus is on the victim to do the detective work and once you can point out the criminal to the “detective” he might find some time to arrest said criminal and if he is in a good mood, might not botch the collection of evidence too much so that said criminal will actually get a fair trial and go to jail. Forget about actually recovering any possessions. Basically, the police have devolved to simply being insurance clerks who give the term “open and shut case” a new meaning.
X Cepting: you are on a roll! Enjoy!
The one way in which we can change this is to join and participate in our Community Police Forums. The feedback in Sandton from the SAP is that the activities of the CPF have had a direct influence on crime and the solving of cases in our area. As more of our community becomes involved and active, so we see a real drop iin incidents. Victim Support directly assists victims of crime and these people are available to assist them ongoing. THis results in better communication as well. Our Domestic Watch movement has resulted in the education of domestic workers in crime prevention as well. We had over 1 000 at the end of year ceremony last year. yes we can assist victims of crime and change the situation – if we all work together
@Judith – Yes, a really cool idea in rich suburbs that can afford to do the police’s work for them, not a workable concept in the poor neighbourhoods where most already spend all their daylight and some night hours away from their neighbourhood working to try and survive. Afterall, while that domestic is busy cleaning those Sandton homes and are comtributing to the safety net of ears and eyes, no-one is doing her the same favour at home, since everyone else works and wheen she is robbed because she cannot afford even the most basic protection, do you honestly think the police will care less about her few unimportant although hard-earned posessions? She probably would not even bother to report the crime because of past experience wit the police. Telling the poor how good cake tastes makes them very angry.
@MLH – Just bitterly angry at the self-absortion and denial of cold fact that I see all aound me every day from people who call themselves “fellow” South Africans.
There should be a strategy to educate people on the laws of the land, both in terms of rights and responsibilities. Too many people fall through the cracks. Why was this not a part of my life-skills course at school?
This shows a clear lack of insight into the task faced by our justice services. Yes, it would be nice to have feedback without asking, and yes, a good detective will try where possible to provide feedback to victims. But the case load that the average detective in this country faces is stupendous. What you might think is a small effort of courtesy (and would be under ‘normal’ crime conditions in a truly first world country) would add even more pressure to a buckling system. To others who might comment, spend some time finding out what conditions your local police are working under, before delivering sweeping judgements. Yes, there is a lot of incompetency, but you’re hurting good people who work very hard (and indeed hurting your own cause) by broadly insulting all members of the justice services.
@Judith: Good on you.
@X Cepting – sorry the patrollers in Alexandra have had a significant impact on crime there. As I recall this is not a rich suburb. There are many similarly successful interventions in other poor areas. In fact the richer areas are far more inclined to apathy.
Xcepting,
Maybe people don’t appreciate the power they have thanks to apartheid and ANC education. If police are useless, vote out the government that perpetuates their incompetent and corrupt uselessness. Next, establish your own parallel systems. There are plenty of unemployed who can be formed into a security system. That’s how the police started. But overall it’s an uphill battle as what we are seeing is democracy breaking down. Thanks ANC, Madiba’s legacy.
@Judith – You seem not to get the point I made, if there are patrollers in Alexandra with the means and leisure to do the police’s work, they can’t be that poor, can they? The blinkered approach of the rich to actual poverty and the lifestyles of the poor really annoys. But then, no-one really writes about it,do they? Watch the movie “Once were warriors” to get a taste. Warning! It is rather violent and not good family entertainment.
@Horace – Agreed on all counts but when people are scared and poewerless they tend to stick with the devil they know. There is great danger in creating civilian police. When too successful, it is but one short step to vigilante armies and gangsterism. Many of the gangs in Cape Town, for instance, started because of a lack of police. Not just Cape Town either, look at cities in other countries. Perhaps it is time to put “justice for all” into action. Be an example for the rest of the world?