E-docket system for improved administration and justice delivery in selected Limpopo province police stations (original) (raw)
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S.A. argiefblad, 2023
The management of electronic records has been a burning issue in many sectors, particularly the justice sector. Criminal justice institutions, such as courts and ministries of justice, suffer from inadequate management of court records, which undermines the legal and judicial systems. South African courts are overburdened with backlogs, delays, and corruption due to poor electronic record management. The dysfunctional management of electronic records has led to poor service delivery and justice for citizens. These concerns provided the impetus for research to assess the management of electronic records at Temba Magistrates' Court in the North West Province of South Africa. To achieve the stated aim, the study adopted a qualitative approach through a case study design. Data were collected by conducting interviews with purposely selected records officers, a records manager, registry clerks and document controllers. The findings of the study indicated that Temba Magistrates' Court has put in place relevant legislation and policies for managing electronic records. The study findings showed that staff are not complying with records management policy. The major findings of the study revealed that the Temba Magistrates' Court has experienced unforeseen consequences, including a backlog of cases, challenges of data storage, loss, and misplacement of electronic court records resulting from poor records management practices. The study concluded with recommendations for the need to motivate and encourage staff members to adhere to the records management policy. The study also revealed the need to adopt multifactor authentication mechanisms such as biometrics, passwords, and fingerprints to reduce or prevent unauthorised access to electronic court records. A comprehensive records management programme should be developed and implemented. It is concluded that staff members working at Temba Magistrates' Court should be suitably trained in all aspects of electronic court management.
2009
The structure of the dissertation is set out in figure 2. 13 FIGURE 2: DIVISION OF THE STUDY Source: Author derived. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter serves as an introduction to this mini-dissertation which will investigate if electronic payments at KWT will improve the service delivery of the SAPS? CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE OVERVIEW The literature overview and underlying concepts are presented in Chapter 2. CHAPTER 3: Methodology The chapter provides an overview of the research design, methodology and research instruments utilized in the study. Use was made of questionnaires. CHAPTER 4: Data Analysis This chapter provides an analysis of the data obtained in the empirical research. Data analysis was done by grouping the data into categories and units of coding. CHAPTER 5: Managerial conclusion and recommendation This chapter contains the conclusions drawn from the research and sets out the recommendations concerning the acceptance of fines electronically.
Investigating information technology and related processes in the civil and criminal justice systems
1998
Recently, the CSIR has been involved in two projects investigating information technology (IT) and related processes in the civil and criminal justice systems, one with the Department of Justice focusing on civil justice, and the other as part of a consortium addressing the Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS), which also includes the Departments of Welfare and Correctional Services, and the South African Police Service (SAPS). The first was funded by the Innovation Fund of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST), and had the Department of Justice as a client. This project investigated the current and potential use of IT in court management, specifically regarding the Civil Courts and Special Courts (eg the Labour Court and Land Claims Court). Processes were identified for each different kind of Court, and the current use of IT established. Problems and needs were identified, with special emphasis on IT, but also considering the bigger environment where IT needed to fit in.
Towards e‐judicial services in Malawi: Implications for justice delivery
The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 2019
In Malawi, the judiciary rolled out an electronic case management system in 2015 in response to the ongoing public sector reforms being championed by the Malawi Government. In this study, we employed the information systems (IS) success model to systematically investigate the benefits that an electronic case management system has brought about to the judiciary of Malawi. Specifically, three themes are pursued as follows: the services offered through an electronic case management system in the judiciary of Malawi; benefits of an electronic case management system; and challenges affecting the use of an electronic case management system in the judiciary of Malawi. Methodologically, the study is guided by a survey design and a questionnaire was used to collect data from various staff in the judiciary including judges, court clerks, court registrars, and information technology personnel. The study reveals that the implementation of an electronic case management system has impacted positively on the security of court files by easing the tracking and retrieving of case files thereby contributing to efficiency in justice delivery. However, the implementation of an electronic case management system has not been spared from challenges, which include frequent loss of network and poor Internet connection.
Alternation: Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa, 2019
The key challenge however facing the South African Government is poor adoption of ICT by its public institutions to support e-government (Ebrahim & Irani 2005). As a result, the SA Government is unable to fully exploit the benefits of ICT adoption to ensure economic growth, effective governance and efficient service delivery. The research objective was to establish the factors which influence technology acceptance or rejection decisions within the South African police services (SAPS). In carrying out this objective, an understanding of the technology adoption context within the public sector would be established. A questionnaire was administered to a sample within the Northwest Province, with a 91% response rate achieved. The SAPS ICT model was derived using concepts from Technology Acceptance determinants. Six moderating factors were identified as part of the model. The research addressed gaps in management levels perceptions on associated value of information versus tools to aid in establishing an integrated approach towards ICT adoption within government departments.
Risk factors in e-justice information systems
Government Information Quarterly, 2013
With the increase of the communication systems' bandwidth and with the dissemination of the information systems, the fields of information and communication technology application expanded in almost all directions. E-government in general and e-justice in particular are no exception and these areas suffered strong changes in the last decades. There is no democracy without a system of swift and transparent justice. Therefore, the introduction of information systems in the courts allows a decrease both in time and number of pending processes, boosting the efficiency of the services provided to citizens and to the society in general. This paper analyzes and discusses different worldwide e-justice experiences. Special emphasis is addressed on the risk factors on the design, development and implementation of such systems. Finally, we present our own experience in the development of an e-justice information system in Cape Verde, an African development country. The scope of our system ranges from the design team until the training of the justice agents.
Constraints of E-Policing Adoption: A Case of Dodoma, Tanzania
We describe a study on constraints of electronic policing (e-policing) adoption in Tanzania. E-policing refers to use electronic means for policing activities. In other words it involves the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in policing activities. The goal is to improve law enforcement and increase community safety. Data was collected using questionnaires, interviews, focused group discussion and document analysis. The study revealed several issues: e-policing adoption is at rudimentary level in Tanzania. ICT is regarded as an agent of confidential information disclosure in policing activities. A number of constraints still exist. These include inadequate computer skills among police officers; insufficient funds to facilitate various activities including training; inappropriate selection of police staff for training on ICT use; inadequate training programs; low Internet penetration and reliability; and less developed ICT infrastructure. The study recommends, among other things, introduction of an information system for epolicing whereby a citizen can report crime incidents by sending a short text message and a notification to the officer responsible is sent for action.
Journal of the South African Society of Archivists, 2021
This article focuses on harnessing a records management programme for justice delivery at the Alice Magistrates’ court. The objectives of the study were to find the extent to which court records are managed for justice delivery, the influence of court records in court processes, and the challenges, if any, of managing court records for justice delivery. The population of the study comprised all those who created and used court records at the Alice Magistrates’ court. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection. Quantitative data were coded and analysed using Microsoft Excel 2010 while qualitative data were analysed using emerging themes based on the objectives of the study. The findings revealed that although records were important for justice delivery by the court, there were challenges posed by inadequate infrastructure, the lack of necessary knowledge and skills, ineffective control of records for justice delivery, and inadequate facilities for pr...
Revolutionising the Civil Courts in South Africa Through Information Technology
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015
A consultative approach was undertaken by a handful of academics in assessing the information technology of court systems from a global perspective inter alia southern hemisphere countries to European trends, which resulted in academics writing critically about this process in revolutionising the case management process and technology. Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng of the Constitutional Court in South Africa remarked that the e-filing system was required to address some of the problems that judicial officers face in hearing appeals when dockets are lost in their entirety. In this specific context there is needed reform for the case management structure of matters that appear on the court roll. The time delay in transcribing records for Judges/Magistrates to access the evidence for writing their judgments inevitably creates backlogs of judgments only being delivered eight months after the trial. This is unfavourable for the litigants that have their matter unduly delayed and causes an incremental rise in litigation fees. A possible solution is for the technology that enables and allows for 'real-time transcript,' which ensures that when evidence is given in court it is automatically transcribed. This means that the Judge/Magistrate has immediate visual access to it on the computer. This particular technology could save costs and allow for accurate information to be given to the Judge/Magistrate for faster digestion of the matter before them. The paper-based system perpetuates that copious amounts of pages are filed at court. An environmental lawyer's worst nightmare of seeing so many pages that have to be printed instead of referring to a 'soft' copy. To a litigants aghast, after the very tedious process of paginating the court files and their own files and on the day of the trial/application the court file goes walkabout. The result is that it is impossible for the matter to proceed on the same day, accordingly the trial is postponed to locate the file and the originals alternatively for the respective litigants to file the necessary copies to ensure that the matter can proceed with a copied file for a civil dispute. However from a criminal perspective when the docket is lost, then the case is postponed for the location of the docket and if it cannot be found then the matter is removed from the roll, until it can be found and then the matter will then be re-enrolled on the court roll, sometimes matters take years to reappear if at all. The result sadly is that when documents go missing that criminals are released into society once again. European countries have adopted e-Courts that function on an online basis where witnesses can attest to evidence through online mediums akin to skype. In the Southern Hemisphere countries such as Singapore and Australia have some of the most advanced Information Technology systems such as e-filing systems and video conferencing are some of the developments that contribute to the 'dawn of a new era of cybercourts.' Australia had initially developed the online court system for matters that were 'complex' but then a particular necessity for it evolved and as a result at least one permanent cyber court sits in each court. Another reason for using information technology in Australia was to ease the backlog of a paper-based system. The trends in technology is not only to revolutionise business and marketing but also has its place in court. Advanced technology usually sums up convenience and especially in the struggle for access to justice 'convenience' is a fad that can address access to justice. A major drawback of information technology is that it is an expensive system, but surely government may address the cost concern if it weighs the successes of the system to paper-based outdated systems. In Singapore the courts have converted to an electronic litigation system, meaning every iota of the litigation is computerised. This paper shall only deal with an analysis of the court online system to revolutionise the civil system within a South African context.