Civil Society and the Development of a South African Community Prosecution Model

Community prosecution is among the new approaches South Africans are exploring to tackle low levels of public trust in the criminal justice system. A workshop on community prosecution—the direct involvement of citizens and civil society groups in justice processes—took place in the capital, Pretoria.

The meeting was the first of a series of activities promoting community prosecution, supported by the Open Society Justice Initiative and the Open Society Foundation of South Africa. The workshop was attended by civil society organizations working on criminal justice issues, and senior officials of the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa.

In South Africa, the part played by the prosecution in the criminal justice process is often poorly understood. Prosecutors themselves traditionally hold a rigid view of their role. In general, prosecutors do not forge ties within their communities of engagement, and rarely address crime prevention or the underlying causes of public insecurity.

As a result, prosecutors are rarely held to public account, and are generally ineffective at addressing the concerns and needs of crime-ridden communities. They frequently fail to distinguish between offenses requiring the full weight of the formal criminal justice system, and those better dealt with by alternative means.

An innovative way to close the gap between prosecutors and the communities in which they work is community prosecution. Community prosecution focuses on targeted geographic areas, and involves a long-term, proactive partnership between prosecutors, police, local government, the community, and civil society organizations, in which the authority of the prosecutor's office is used to solve problems, improve public safety, and enhance the quality of life of community members.

The workshop examined the role civil society organizations can play in developing a community prosecution strategy. Speakers identified opportunities for civil society engagement in South Africa. Martin Schönteich of the Justice Initiative told the meeting of the importance of fostering dialogue and cooperation between civil society and the National Prosecuting Authority in the development of a common vision for a South African community prosecution strategy.