South Africa’s current spend on safety and security is unsustainable and unaffordable in the long term, warned African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum director Sean Tait at a Wits Justice Project breakfast last week.

“South Africa has a R17-billion justice budget, which encompasses courts and prosecutions, Legal Aid and Chapter 9 institutions. There is a R20-billion corrections budget and a huge R70-billion police budget. In essence, South Africa spends a total of R100-billion on criminal justice,” explained Tait.

He said this needed to be compared to spending on other priorities, such as spending on healthcare, job creation and infrastructure, among others.

“At the end of the day, this is a trade-off, and the extent to which this is going to remain affordable is a question we need to ask ourselves,” he said.

Tait referred to the reform agenda over the past 20 years, which showed an annual 14% increase in the police budget, as well as massive investments in safety and security.

The dividend on this spending was debatable for while police numbers have increased, South Africans continued to feel unsafe. He questioned whether the government would be able to continue to afford that investment.

“When we’re looking at the ongoing project of police and criminal justice reform, we need to ask whether there are ways we can be smarter. We are also going to have to ask ourselves some very difficult questions, such as whether the cost of minimum sentencing was worth the long term impact it had on filling up correctional facilities with people with no or limited opportunities for parole or release. 

“We need to ask what the cost of this means for society and for Correctional Services whose vision is that of rehabilitation and reintegration.”

He concluded by saying that government could no longer afford to simply throw more money at the criminal justice system. “If we need to prioritise spending then we need to be led by the development vision of making South Africa safer as set out in the National Development Plan,” he said.