“This paper looks at a number of the criminal justice system’s performance indicators to identify its crucial weaknesses. Most of the analysis will be devoted to the last three years (1996-98) for which comprehensive statistics are available for the whole country. However, a
brief overview of selected historical trends is given as these provide valuable insight into some of the current weaknesses of the criminal justice system. In South Africa, the police and the prosecution service are two distinct and separate institutions. Yet, they must rely on each other if they are to succeed in their fight against crime. A perfectly investigated crime will not lead to a conviction if its prosecution is flawed.”
