NPA still missing the plot on criminal conviction rate

The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes the response by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) defending their calculation of the purported 90% criminal conviction rate.

The DA accepts that it is possible to calculate conviction rates by employing various methods, creative or otherwise. However, claiming that there is a 90% conviction rate, in a society such as ours which is marred by violent contact crime, is not a reflection of the reality and untruthfully creates the impression that we are winning the fight against crime.

A staggering 2.1 million incidents of crime were reported last year alone. Whilst the number of convictions cannot be calculated using this figure, given that these cases are not all ready for court in the year they are reported, at the very least the number of cases that are actually referred to court, supposedly ready for prosecution, should be used.

The prosecution cannot necessarily be blamed for the fact that such a high number of cases are withdrawn - it is quite possible that the investigations by SAPS have not been completed satisfactorily. The fact remains, however, that when matters are referred to the NPA, they should be complete and ready for prosecution. It is unacceptable that 55% of them have to be removed from the roll.

The DA maintains that the real conviction rate should be calculated by using the number of convictions as a percentage of the total number of cases disposed of in court. Calculated in this manner, fewer than one in three cases before South African courts lead to conviction (see the "real conviction rate" in the table below). 

For the NPA to pat itself on the back for a "real" conviction rate of less than 30% is simply unacceptable. Instead of defending their methodology the NPA should admit that their approach is flawed and undermines the fight against crime. It would be far more helpful if they indicated the reasons for the removal of so many cases from the roll, so that we can identify where the problems lie, and correct them.

The DA maintains that reflecting the conviction rate as 90% is an injustice to the victims of crime and undermines the efforts of the criminal justice system as a whole to effectively combat the unacceptably high levels of contact and violent crime. It does not give a realistic view of what is really happening.

The DA will engage further with the NPA in the Justice and Constitutional Development Portfolio Committee on the creative methodology employed by the prosecuting authority.

Statement issued by Debbie Schafer MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, June 8 2012

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