Child Justice

Comparing the South African child justice reform process and experiences of juvenile justice reform in the United States of America

By: Ehlers, Louise
Published by: Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF), 2006
Via: OSF

In this paper the author seeks to examine some debates that have shaped the contours of the Child Justice Bill in Parliament. It reflects upon these against the backdrop of legislative and policy trends in juvenile justice in the United States and attempts to locate the future of the Child Justice Bill in current socio-political context. It notes that, historically, there has been a tendency by South African law and policy makers when seeking solutions to the crime problem to look to US models for guidance. This is illustrated by, for example, the modeling of the Scorpions on US equivalents, the introduction of privatized prisons and the development of the Prevention of Organized Crime Act.

The paper goes on to argue that while the parliamentary deliberations concerning the Bill have not overtly adduced or cited US models of juvenile justice in support of particular positions, there is some evidence that the changes may result in a system in which protection is selectively provided to deserving cases, whilst a punitive response is obligatory where serious crimes are involved, or where the children are regarded as undeserving of the protection of childhood. The paper concludes by stating that South Africa still has the opportunity of reversing some of the adverse changes to the Bill before it is voted into law. In its original form, the Bill has already served as a model law elsewhere in Africa, and it would be unfortunate indeed if regressive measures, such as bifurcation, mandatory sentencing and pretrial detention of children aged below 14 in prisons, where allowed to survive.