The Integrated Justice System Project

This report evaluates the Integrated Justice System (IJS) Court Centre Project in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, a collaborative initiative between the government and the private sector (Business Against Crime) designed to address systemic bottlenecks in the criminal justice process. The project integrates various services—including pre-trial services, awaiting trial prisoner reviews, and a prison-based periodical court—to reduce case cycle times, lower prison overcrowding, and improve conviction rates. The report highlights the success of the Port Elizabeth model as a blueprint for national rollout, emphasizing the importance of project management skills and inter-departmental cooperation.

• South Africa's criminal justice system exhibited significant performance failures in 2000, with only 8% of the 2.6 million recorded crimes resulting in a conviction.
• Prison overcrowding in South Africa reached critical levels by December 2001, with a national occupancy level of 166%, meaning 175,290 inmates were held in facilities with an approved capacity of 105,435.
• The Port Elizabeth IJS Court Centre achieved a significant reduction in the time between an accused person's first court appearance and the point of trial readiness, decreasing from an average of 61 days in the first quarter of 2001 to 35 days by the fourth quarter.
• Between April 1999 and March 2002, the Port Elizabeth Court Centre facilitated the release of approximately 1,700 awaiting trial prisoners, saving the Department of Correctional Services nearly R5 million in costs.
• The Port Elizabeth Court Centre processed 10,300 cases in 2001, with 3,682 of those cases being readied for trial, averaging about 200 per month.
• The IJS Court Centre in Port Elizabeth identified 1,197 fugitives or wanted persons during 2000 and 2001, averaging nearly 50 per month, by utilizing electronic photographs and distributing them to police precincts.
• The success of the Port Elizabeth Court Centre is attributed to a partnership between four government departments (safety and security, justice, correctional services, and welfare) and the private sector via Business Against Crime (BAC), which provided essential project management skills and neutrality.
• The number of incarcerated children in South Africa increased by 170% between June 1996 and June 2001, rising from 1,335 to 3,602, while unsentenced children increased by 330% in the same period.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). The Integrated Justice System Project. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono75.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. The Integrated Justice System Project. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono75.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=The Integrated Justice System Project |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono75.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndintegrated, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{The Integrated Justice System Project}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono75.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }