Tough prosecutors take down nation’s corrupt politicians and slickest criminals in USAID-supported program
By her second year 
By her second year
in law school in Free State, South Africa, Glynnis Breytenbach knew she wanted
to be a prosecutor, and she entered the prosecutorial service in Johannesburg in
1987. Crime rates surged after apartheid’s authoritarian controls were lifted in
the 1990s, and South Africa became a major destination for crime syndicates that
prey on businesses. By 2000 in law school in Free State, South Africa, Glynnis Breytenbach knew she wanted to be a prosecutor, and she entered the prosecutorial service in Johannesburg in 1987. Crime rates surged after apartheid’s authoritarian controls were lifted in the 1990s, and South Africa became a major destination for crime syndicates that prey on businesses. By 2000
commercial crime was 
siphoning $6 billion a year from
the economy. When the South African government began fighting back
aggressively with laws and crime-fighting institutions adapted from
international best practices, Breytenbach
soon had a new calling. In 1999 President
Thabo Mbeki established a Specialized Commercial Crime Court and Prosecuting
Unit in Pretoria. The
Department of Justice refurbished office space downtown, the National
Prosecuting Authority assigned prosecutors, and the Commercial Crime Branch of
the police moved into the new offices. The “Unit” as Breytenbach calls it, had
almost no budget when she joined it as its Director of Operations in its first year.
USAID and Business Against Crime (BAC), an association of major South African corporations, stepped in to assist with Anti-Corruption Initiative funding. USAID began training prosecutors in the skills to try commercial crimes, which includes fraud as well as corruption. Breytenbach describes the USAID-funded training as having been “particularly beneficial.” Meanwhile BAC advised the Unit on management approaches, and based on that advice the Unit adopted the computerized caseload management system it uses today.
The Specialized Commercial Crime Court and Prosecuting Unit in Pretoria is a busy place. Police investigators and prosecutors work under common guidelines and in the same office space – “co-location” as it is called. When a citizen files a complaint, or when a police investigation uncovers evidence of a commercial crime, a docket is opened. A Commercial Crime Branch police investigator is assigned, and Breytenbach delegates a prosecutor. Within 14 days the prosecutor must contact the investigator, according to the guidelines.
“Most of the investigators are men,” says Breytenbach. “Most of the prosecutors are women.” When possible, pairings are made to transfer skills. Thus a senior investigator will work with a junior prosecutor on a case, or vice versa. Mentoring is encouraged. On more complicated cases a less experienced prosecutor will assist the more experienced prosecutor who is assigned so that the younger prosecutor can learn new skills.
The decision to go to trial or not lies with the prosecutor. Should the prosecutor decide to take legal action, she and the investigator will work together to decide what sort of crime they are dealing with and what will be needed for successful prosecution. With a common vision the prosecutor and the investigator work together to build the case. The caseload management system – in essence a check list – assists the prosecutor to assure that all the elements needed for trial are included. Minutes are kept of each of the prosecutor’s and investigator’s planning meetings, assuring internal accountability. “By the time a docket is ready,” says Breytenbach, “even though it’s likely a yard thick, the prosecutor knows everything in there. She has a feel for it.”
Volume is high, says Chris Jordaan, Special Director of Public Prosecutors and Head of the Specialized Commercial Crime Unit. At any point in time each Commercial Crime Branch police investigator is handling 30 cases and each prosecutor almost double that amount. A compelling man with a salt-and-pepper gray beard, Jordaan is possessed of great energy and enthusiasm and is clearly proud of the conviction rate his prosecutors achieve. Prosecutors assigned to his Unit have won the South African Prosecutor of the Year Award four years running. A major reason is the use of plea bargaining, introduced by U.S. technical specialists, that is a new concept in South Africa. Jordaan is one of South Africa’s leading experts on this prosecutorial technique and lectures on the subject widely. Prosecutors from Jordaan’s Unit are always so well prepared that today one out of ten accused are plea bargaining, and the number is growing. “Training in the Unit is a high priority,” he says, “both in-service training – coaching and mentoring – and formal training.” The Unit lacks adequate resources for the latter, he adds.
The Specialized Commercial Crime Court and Prosecuting Unit in Pretoria proved such a success that in 2003 the Department of Justice opened a second court in Pretoria and a third court in Johannesburg. With USAID and BAC Anti-Corruption Initiative assistance, a fourth court was opened in Port Elizabeth in 2004 and a fifth court in Durban. All courts maintain conviction rates of more than 90%. Additional courts in the major cities of Bloemfontein and Germiston are planned, Jordaan says.
Jordaan’s teams of prosecutors do not shy away from the rich or powerful. One trio of stock brokers was hit hard with 5,256 counts of fraud involving $4 million. Specialized Commercial Crime Prosecutors have successfully indicted senior members of parliament, senior police officials, including a commissioner, and members of the legal fraternity.
Breytenbach is smiling when her visitors ask her to account for the success of South Africa’s Specialized Commercial Crime Courts and Prosecuting Units. “Co-location, good case planning, and high [staff] retention,” she says. She should have added hard work, because commercial crime prosecutors work long days. “We are seeing a deterrent effect,” she says. If the Unit could get “a sufficient number of higher skilled prosecutors,” she adds, “in five to ten years, white collar crime will be under control.”
Story and photograph by Sesana Mokoana
