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THE SPECIALISED COMMERCIAL CRIME UNIT

THE SPECIALISED COMMERCIAL CRIME UNIT. AN OVERVIEW MAY 2008 ADV CHRIS JORDAAN, SC. INDEX. Background Who are we? Where do we fit into the structures? What cases do we do?. INDEX (CONT). How do we do our work? Our achievements 2002/3 to date Recent achievements Trends/ challenges

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THE SPECIALISED COMMERCIAL CRIME UNIT

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  1. THE SPECIALISED COMMERCIAL CRIME UNIT AN OVERVIEW MAY 2008 ADV CHRIS JORDAAN, SC

  2. INDEX • Background • Who are we? • Where do we fit into the structures? • What cases do we do?

  3. INDEX (CONT) • How do we do our work? • Our achievements 2002/3 to date • Recent achievements • Trends/ challenges • Annexures: A- Monitoring tools B- Improvement Plans

  4. BACKGROUND • Established on 1 August 1999 as a pilot project to combat the deteriorating situation pertaining to commercial crime. • Starting operations in Pretoria, it soon proved to be so effective that it was decided to roll the Unit out countrywide.

  5. BACKGROUND (CONT) Some of the objectives of the initiative were: • Specialisation • Co-location of prosecutors and investigators • Dedicated courts • Substantially increase number of cases processed • Reduce cycle times

  6. WHO ARE WE? Our mandate: • We are specialist prosecutors within the National Prosecuting Authority • We are dedicated to the prosecution of complex commercial crime cases

  7. WHO ARE WE? (CONT) • Establishment : 169 posts & 7 contract posts • Regional Offices at Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Durban and attached office of PE in East London • Pretoria also serves Polokwane and Mpumalanga • Majority of prosecutors are Senior State Advocates

  8. WHO ARE WE? (CONT) • We also provide services to some regions, either by a prosecutor on site or prosecutor going on circuit • Our contract prosecutors deal with RAF matters and counterfeit matters

  9. WHO ARE WE? (CONT) • We mostly prosecute in the Regional Courts • Prosecutions in the High Court and District Court not excluded

  10. Where do we fit into the structures? NPA Structure

  11. CCU Unit. Syndicate Fraud Unit Fraud Unit Fraud Unit Fraud Unit Fraud Unit Where do we fit into the structures? Partners NDPP NSSD DEPUTY NDPP Steering Committee Regional Court President Commercial Branch Provincial Head SPECIAL DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTION MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE SCCU Prosecutors Courts COMMERCIAL BRANCH Process Scheduling & Management, Admin & Finance

  12. Where do we fit into the structures? Partners MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE PROSECUTION INVESTIGATION OPERATIONS OPERATIONS PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATION

  13. WHAT CASES DO WE DO?(SAPS MANDATE) • We prosecute complex commercial crime cases investigated by the Commercial Branch of the South African Police Services in dedicated courts • We obtain our cases thus mostly through SAPS Commercial Branch’s mandate

  14. WHAT CASES DO WE DO?(SAPS MANDATE) • However the SCCU will attend to any complex commercial crime matter brought to its attention in the area where it is operational • General rule – only serious commercial crime (Regional Court matters) • Directive of DPP as to forum of cases (DC or RC) serves as a guideline

  15. The Mandate of SAPS Commercial Branch The mandate of SAPS Commercial Branch : • Statutory offences relating to legislation under diverse areas, from Banking and Currency to E-Crime • Common-law offences • All common-law offences pertaining to the statutes dealt with by the branch , including fraud and theft

  16. The Mandate of SAPS Commercial Branch Other fraud-related crimes: • counterfeit banknotes, and the counterfeiting of legal tender Theft: • Trust monies

  17. The Mandate of SAPS Commercial Branch Fraud: • Relating to company or close corporation, double discounting of instalment sale agreements, “factoring”, stock exchange, Computer related, Internet related, stolen cards, State Institutions, fiduciary capacity

  18. The Mandate of SAPS Commercial Branch • White-plastic, clone cheques, counterfeiting and uttering of credit, debit and petrol cards. • Kite-flying, which is the unlawful generating of funds in bank accounts by means of depositing stolen or worthless bills of exchange

  19. WHAT CASES DO WE DO?OTHER • In discretion of Head of the Unit/delegates to accept matters outside of SAPS Commercial Branch mandate, e.g. upon request of another unit • NDPP exercises discretion and may allocate certain matters, e.g. prosecution of NPA-members in other units

  20. HOW DO WE DO OUR WORK? • Joint planning & problem solving • Specified focus areas • Location • Team work • Case planning • Prosecutor guided investigation • Monitoring & evaluation

  21. HOW DO WE DO THIS?JOINT PLANNING & PROBLEM SOLVING • We work jointly with the police and other stakeholders, e. g. Banking Industry, Business Against Crime, Road Accident Fund, etc • We have procedural guidelines, accepted by all • We have scheduled strategic & operational meetings, attended by all

  22. HOW DO WE DO OUR WORK? OUR FOCUS AREAS SPECIALISATION (Investigation & Prosecution of CC) COMMITMENT (Dedicated Focus) FOCUS AREAS EXPERIENCED PEOPLE (Capacity Building) EFFECTIVE PROCESSES (Optimal operational efficiency & effectiveness)

  23. HOW DO WE DO THIS?LOCATION • We mostly share premises with the SAPS Commercial Branch • We prosecute our cases in dedicated Regional Courts, usually located at/near our premises

  24. HOW DO WE DO THIS?TEAM WORK • A prosecutor and investigator are allocated right at beginning of a case • They work together as a team throughout the case • Co- location contributes to efficacy of relationship

  25. HOW DO WE DO THIS?TEAM WORK • The Prosecutor guides the investigation • The Prosecutor and Investigator however operate independently and are functionaries in their own right • Involvement of prosecutors in the investigation not allowed • The Prosecutor does not lead the investigation

  26. HOW DO WE DO OUR WORK?TEAMWORK Dr J A van S d’ Oliveira SC • “A prosecutor must be TASK TEAM ORIENTATED. There must be a joint prosecutor – police collaboration from the outset. This is the recipe for success.”

  27. HOW DO WE DO OUR WORK?TEAM WORK Case plan • The prosecutor and investigator jointly draft a case plan, setting out what needs to be done, by whom and when • They monitor progress by regular follow up meetings • The guidelines aligns target dates to tasks

  28. Investigation Phase Prepare for Trial The TRIAL Post Trial Review INVESTIGATOR PROSECUTOR Arrest Suspect Resp. IO Date by dd. mm Witness Statements from.. Resp IO Date by dd.mm. Court Proceedings Resp. Pros Trial date dd. mm Finalise Docket Resp. IO Date by: 7 days EXTERNAL SPECIALIST Consult key witnesses Resp. Pros. Date by dd. mm Prepare charge sheet Resp. Pros. Date by dd. mm Consultations Heads of Agreement, etc. Update records Resp. IO Date by: 7 days Bank Statements from.. Resp IO Date by dd.mm. Subpoena Witnesses Resp. IO/Pros. Date by dd. mm CASE PLANNING PLANNING MEETING Plan activity Agree resp.& target dates TEAM FOCUS

  29. CASE PLANNINGSCOPE OF THE PROCESS AFU FORMAL WORKING RELATION- SHIP EXTERNAL SOURCES Eg. NDPP other Provinces,, etc. PROSECUTOR INVESTIGATOR Unit Commander allocates case to Investigator INITIAL investigation to enable Unit Cmdr to assess whether “there is a case” TEAM Investigates case and Prepares for Trial THE TRIAL The Post Trial REVIEW SCCU Cases Investigator + Prosecutor + External Spec Team Appt. PLAN Investigation & Delegate Tasks NEW CASES Cases Reviewed by Unit Mgt. CASES CLOSED NON-SCCU CASES CASES NOLLE PROSECUI MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

  30. HOW DO WE DO OUR WORK?MONITOR & EVALUATE • The process is monitored by supervisors on an electronic case register • Regular operational and strategic meetings with all stakeholders are held

  31. OUR ACHIEVEMENTS 2002/3 TO 2006/7 • Number of courts increased by 241.7% • Number of convictions increased by 435.3% • Conviction rate averaging 95%

  32. OUR ACHIEVEMENTS 2002/3 TO 2006/7 • Cases enrolled for trial increased by 251.9% • Cases finalised increased by 158, 2%

  33. OUR ACHIEVEMENTS 2002/3 TO 2006/7 • Major cases resulting in convictions and long prison sentences • E.g. In 2006/7 direct imprisonment in 134 cases • Good court hours: in 2006/7 averaging 4h34 • Model environment for development of similar prosecutor guided initiatives

  34. RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS • The SCCU devised compliance monitoring tools for 13 selected policies and monitored compliance over a year to obtain baselines • The SCCU selected 7 priority governance areas, implemented improvement plans and increased the combined governance index score by 28,75%

  35. RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS • The SCCU actively managed risk by allocating a risk manager and implementing risk mitigation plans • The SCCU concentrated on properly managing the relationships with stakeholders, employees, other units • A stakeholder survey was held • An employee satisfaction survey was held

  36. RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS • Baselines were obtained and plans to increase satisfaction levels drafted • The SCCU made a concerted effort to engage with the community; all offices had several projects • Joint targets were set with the AFU and exceeded

  37. TRENDS Decrease in Court hours : • Permanent Magistrates not given by DoJ as promised • Rotating of magistrates, which influences continuity of cases and requires fragmentation of staff in different courts -The type of cases enrolled are more complex -A tendency for less pleas and more trials have developed.

  38. TRENDS Consistently high conviction rate High withdrawal rate: • This can be attributed to a clean out session relating to the RAF project held during the year • Reasons for withdrawals are supplied on an ongoing basis and monitored

  39. TRENDS

  40. CHALLENGES • To increase access to our services • To create a pool of prosecutors who are specialists in the prosecution of commercial crime • To investigate how we can deliver a service from district court level up

  41. THE SPECIALISED COMMERCIAL CRIME UNIT THE END

  42. ANNEXURE AMONITORING TOOLS • Asset Management • Conditions of Service • Employee Wellness • Performance Management • Petty Cash • Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities • Sexual Harassment • Smoking • Supply Chain Management • Telephone and Cellular • Termination of Service • Theft and Losses • Vehicle Management

  43. ANNEXURE BIMPROVEMENT PLANS Priority Governance Areas: • Risk Management • Performance Management • Stakeholder Management • Policy Management • Financial Management • Strategic Management • Information Management

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