Department of Justice and Correctional Services

Department of Justice and Correctional Services

List 10 other official names: Departement van Justisie en Staatkundige Ontwikkeling  (Afrikaans) umNyango wezoBulungiswa nokuThuthukiswa komThethosisekelo  (Southern Ndebele) iSebe lezoBulungisa noMgaqosiseko  (Xhosa) uMnyango Wezobulungiswa Nokuthuthukiswa Komthethosisekelo  (Zulu) Litiko Letebulungiswa Netekutfutfukiswa Kwemtsetfosisekelo  (Swati) Kgoro ya Toka le Tlhabollo ya Molaotheo  (Northern Sotho) Lefapha la Toka le Ntshetsopele ya Molao wa Motheo  (Sotho) Lefapha la Bosiamisi le Tlhabololo ya Molaotheo  (Tswana) Ndzawulo ya Vululami na Nhluvukiso wa Vumbiwa  (Tsonga) Muhasho wa Vhulamukanyi na Mveledziso ya Mulayotewa  (Venda)
Logo of the department
Department overview
Jurisdiction	Government of South Africa
Headquarters	Momentum Centre, 329 Pretorius Street, Pretoria 25°44′52″S 28°11′42″E / 25.74778°S 28.19500°E / -25.74778; 28.19500
Employees	63,945 (2012/13)
Annual budget	R34,883 million (2014/15)
Ministers responsible	Michael Masutha, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services John Jeffery, Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services for Justice and Constitutional Development Thabang Makwetla, Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services for Correctional Services
Department executive	Nonkululeko Msomi, Director-General: Justice and Constitutional Development
Child agencies	National Prosecuting Authority South African Law Reform Commission
Website	www.justice.gov.za

The Department of Justice and Correctional Services is the justice ministry of the South African government. The department provides administrative and financial support to the court system and the judiciary (which are constitutionally independent of the executive), oversees the National Prosecuting Authority, provides legal advice and representation to organs of state, facilitates law reform and is responsible for the country's Correctional Services.

Prior to May 2014, Correctional Services was a separate department and the justice department was named the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.^[1][2]

The political head of the department is the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, who is supported by two deputy ministers. The incumbent minister is Michael Masutha and his deputies are John Jeffery (Justice and Constitutional Development) and Thabang Makwetla (Correctional Services).^[3][4] At the time of the 2014 national budget, Justice and Correctional Service were still two separate departments; R15,161.9 million was appropriated for Justice, while R19,721.1 million was appropriated for Correctional Services. In the 2012/13 financial year the Department of Justice had 23,780 employees and the Department of Correctional Services had 40,165.^[5][6]

The correctional division of the department has about 34,000 staff and is responsible for the administration of 240 prisons, which accommodates about 189,748 inmates. The prisons include minimum, medium and maximum security facilities. The political head of the department is the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, currently Michael Masutha.^[7][8]

Correctional centres

The 178 prisons run by the department include:

• 9 women-only prisons
• 13 prisons for young offenders
• 40 prisons for male offenders
• 72 prisons for both male and female offenders
• 5 prisons that are temporarily closed down or undergoing renovations

Notable prisons

• Pollsmoor Prison in the Western Cape Province is the largest maximum security prison and houses inmates serving life or long term sentences.
• C Max in Pretoria is also a maximum security prison which houses inmates serving long sentences and those that are considered flight risks.
• The former Pretoria Central Prison now known as Kgosi Mampuru II (who was hanged at the prison on 22 November 1883 for public violence and revolt, as well as the murder of rival leader Sekhukhune), was the official site for capital punishment in South Africa before the end of apartheid, frequently meted out against opponents of the apartheid regime. Capital punishment was abolished in 1995 (see Capital punishment in South_Africa)
• Drakenstein Correctional Centre, the prison from which Nelson Mandela was released after being imprisoned for opposing apartheid.

Branches

• Finance
• Development and Care
• Corrections
• Central Services
• Corporate Services
• Operations & Management Support
• Departmental Investigation Unit (DIU)

References

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