ACJR takes JICS delegation on an oversight study tour to London, UK

From 8 to 12 May 2017, ACJR staff Lukas Muntingh and Gwen Dereymaeker took a delegation of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) to London, United Kingdom, on a study tour. The purpose of the study tour is to strengthen the oversight capacity of JICS through the exchange of knowledge between JICS and its UK counterparts.

The trip forms part of a broader project, funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Magna Carta Fund) and implemented in partnership with the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF), aimed at reviewing the successes and challenges in the operational framework of JICS and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate. Two seminars took place in November 2016 and January 2017, in Cape Town (South Africa), in preparation for the May 2017 study tour.

The seminars identified several areas for discussion, which formed the basis for the study tour. These touched upon recruitment, skills development and training, the conduct and outcome of inspections or investigations, performance indicators and monitoring and evaluation of the oversight work, and the relationship with external stakeholders such as Parliament or the public. The aim of the UK study tour was to reinforce JICS’s operational framework and/or interventions in relation to these areas for discussion. The project offers a platform for further engagement and technical support in relation to the said areas of engagement.

The 5-day UK study engaged ten different individuals and institutions, including Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, the Prisons and Probations Ombudsman, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the Institute for Criminal Policy Research and a prison visit.