Management of Remand Detainees in South Africa - DCS-Home

DCS further detains foreign nationals who are awaiting deportation but who have not been
criminally charged. This category will not be included in the scope of this discussion
document as they are not managed through the generic processes of CJS which involves
arrest and investigation by SAPS officials, prosecution, conviction and sentencing, however
the operational strategy for this category will be articulated in the protocol. They are
managed through the Immigration Act (Act 13 of 2002) and regulations which are
spearheaded by the Department of Home Affairs. They are detained in DCS and SAPS
facilities through the detention warrant issued by an immigration officer. It is, however, worth
mentioning that within the category of RDs who are foreign nationals, there are those that are
criminally charged for breaching the Immigration Act. The latter will be managed like any RD
who is the client of the CJS system.
Arrested persons who have not been charged and kept in SAPS cells are not RDs therefore
they will be excluded in the scope of the discussion document.
1.3 Role Players in the Management of RDs
Within the South African CJS, there are a number of role-players who are involved in the
management of RDs. The CJS consists of the following four core departments or institutions:
the SAPS, the DoJCD, the NPA and the DCS. However, the JCPS Cluster established by
cabinet includes the Department of Defence (DOD) and Department of Home Affairs (DHA),
in addition to a number of other stakeholders (e.g. the Legal Aid South Africa (LASA).
SAPS is responsible for arrest and investigation, while the NPA assumes the role of review
of evidence provided by the police and decides whether or not the available evidence
warrants prosecution of the accused. DoJCD is responsible for court administration (i.e.
prosecution and adjudication of cases brought before it by the police). The court further
decides whether the accused will be detained while awaiting trial or await trail out of custody.
DCS is responsible for carrying out court decisions with regard to detention of RDs and those
awaiting sentencing. The responsibility of detaining RD children is shared with the DSD.
DCS, however detains the bulk of RDs (approximately 95-96%) while the DSD detains in its
Secure Care Facilities (SCFs) only children RDs who constitute almost 3 to 3.4% of the DCS
RD population.
Arrested persons detained in SAPS facilities are not regarded as RDs. However, there are
RDs who are under the custody of DCS but who are kept in police cells for further
investigation from time to time.
Each of the JCPS cluster departments, excluding the DOD and the DHA, plays a significant
role in the CJS from the time a suspect is arrested to the time of sentencing (see figure 1.1
for an outline of the processes involved).
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