SOUTH AFRICA: Child Justice Act experiences teething problems

Submitted by crinadmin on

[CAPE TOWN, 22 June 2011] - The Child Justice Act is experiencing teething problems in its implementation. 

On Wednesday, the Justice Department presented a progress report to Parliament.

South Africa implemented the act just over a year ago, but there is a long way to go before it starts working.

The act is designed to provide a separate system for child offenders, which protects them from the harsh aspects of the criminal justice system.

Instead of prison, children who have broken the law are sent to reformatories or other facilities where rehabilitation is the priority.

However, one of the act's drafters, Anne Skelton, said it is difficult to determine whether it is working, as the progress report was full of errors.

“This is probably rising from the fact that there are so many different departments involved in running this act and of course they all collect data in different ways,” she said.

The progress report revealed that over 75,000 children were charged with criminal offences between April 2010 and March this year.

 

Further Information: 

pdf: http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/Story.aspx?Id=68625

Country: 
South Africa
Attachment Link: 
http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/Story.aspx?Id=68625
Link : 

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