The following tables provide an overview of prosecution brief outcomes and the stages of resolution for the month.
- The stage of resolution is where a legal outcome is attained and no further action is required on a file. It reflects the time of attaining that result relative to the legal process.
The data presented in this section is counted by accused and not by file.
Stage of resolution for prosecution files finalised
| Pre-committal | Pre-trial | Trial | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 TOTAL | 780 (65.00%) | 162 (13.50%) | 258 (21.50%) | 1200 |
| Jul 19 | 57 (55.88%) | 10 (9.80%) | 35 (34.31%) | 102 |
| Aug 19 | 86 (66.67%) | 11 (8.53%) | 32 (24.81%) | 129 |
| Sep 19 | 70 (61.95%) | 14 (12.39%) | 29 (25.66%) | 113 |
| Oct 19 | 55 (61.11%) | 14 (15.56%) | 21 (23.33%) | 90 |
| Nov 19 | 62 (52.99%) | 22 (18.80%) | 33 (28.21%) | 117 |
| Dec 19 | 58 (66.67%) | 11 (12.64%) | 18 (20.69%) | 87 |
| Jan 20 | 61 (74.39%) | 13 (15.85%) | 8 (9.76%) | 82 |
| Feb 20 | 65 (60.75%) | 13 (12.15%) | 29 (27.10%) | 107 |
| Mar 20 | 70 (67.31%) | 13 (12.50%) | 21 (20.19%) | 104 |
| Apr 20 | 54 (73.97%) | 12 (16.44%) | 7 (9.59%) | 73 |
| May 20 | 64 (68.09%) | 15 (15.96%) | 15 (15.96%) | 94 |
| Jun 20 | 78 (76.47%) | 14 (13.73%) | 10 (9.80%) | 102 |
The data is counted by accused and not by file.
Prosecution files resolved at the ‘trial’ stage are based on all trials (listed in previous or the current month) that resolved during the month. Because of this, the ‘trial’ figures in this table will not match the figures in the ‘Trial Outcomes’ section which are based on trials listed for hearing in the month.
The total number of prosecution files in this table will not equal the total number of files closed in each month (Table 1).
This is because Table 8 relates to only prosecution files (counted by accused) whereas Table 1 counts by file and includes Prosecutions, Appeals, Confiscations, Mental Impairment matters, Bail Reviews, Habitual Sexual Offender matters, Magistrates Court Prosecutions, Opinions, Non-Parole Period matters, Breach Bond, Drug Court matters and Adjudications.
The following table provides a breakdown of the prosecution file outcomes attained within each resolution stage identified in Table 8.
| Committed for sentence | Tender no evidence | Pleads guilty (Magistrates Court) | No case to answer | Other (including return to SAPOL) | Monthly total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 TOTAL | 525 (66.46%) | 113 (14.30%) | 120 (15.19%) | 2 (0%) | 30 (3.80%) | 790 |
| Jul 19 | 39 (68.42%) | 8 (14.04%) | 6 (10.53%) | 1 (1.75%) | 3 (5.26%) | 57 |
| Aug 19 | 61 (70.93%) | 16 (18.60%) | 8 (9.30%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (1.16%) | 86 |
| Sep 19 | 45 (64.29%) | 12 (17.14%) | 10 (14.29%) | 1 (1.43%) | 2 (2.86%) | 70 |
| Oct 19 | 32 (58.18%) | 14 (25.45%) | 4 (7.27%) | 0 (0%) | 5 (9.09%) | 55 |
| Nov 19 | 41 (66.13%) | 9 (14.52%) | 9 (14.52%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (4.84%) | 62 |
| Dec 19 | 41 (70.69%) | 7 (12.07%) | 7 (12.07%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (5.17%) | 58 |
| Jan 20 | 48 (67.61%) | 11 (15.49%) | 9 (12.68%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (4.23%) | 71 |
| Feb 20 | 47 (72.31%) | 3 (4.62%) | 11 (16.92%) | 0 (0%) | 4 (6.15%) | 65 |
| Mar 20 | 42 (60.00%) | 10 (14.29%) | 18 (25.71%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 70 |
| Apr 20 | 36 (66.67%) | 7 (12.96%) | 11 (20.37%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 54 |
| May 20 | 40 (62.50%) | 9 (14.06%) | 11 (17.19%) | 0 (0%) | 4 (6.25%) | 64 |
| Jun 20 | 53 (67.95%) | 7 (8.97%) | 16 (20.51%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (2.56%) | 78 |
'Other’ includes matters where the accused is mentally unfit to stand trial or found to be mentally incompetent.
| Guilty Plea (All/Some/Lesser) | Nolle Prosequi | White Paper | Other | Monthly total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 TOTAL | 99 (60.74%) | 27 (16.56%) | 27 (16.56%) | 10 (6.13%) | 163 |
| Jul 19 | 4 (40.00%) | 3 (30.00%) | 2 (20.00%) | 1 (10.00%) | 10 |
| Aug 19 | 7 (63.64%) | 1 (9.09%) | 1 (9.09%) | 2 (18.18%) | 11 |
| Sep 19 | 6 (42.86%) | 5 (35.71%) | 3 (21.43%) | 0 (0%) | 14 |
| Oct 19 | 10 (71.43%) | 2 (14.29%) | 1 (7.14%) | 1 (7.14%) | 14 |
| Nov 19 | 13 (59.09%) | 3 (13.64%) | 6 (27.27%) | 0 (0%) | 22 |
| Dec 19 | 6 (54.55%) | 3 (27.27%) | 2 (18.18%) | 0 (0%) | 11 |
| Jan 20 | 10 (71.43%) | 3 (21.43%) | 1 (7.14%) | 0 (0%) | 14 |
| Feb 20 | 10 (76.92%) | 1 (7.69%) | 1 (7.69%) | 1 (7.69%) | 13 |
| Mar 20 | 8 (61.54%) | 1 (7.69%) | 2 (15.38%) | 2 (15.38%) | 13 |
| Apr 20 | 4 (33.33%) | 3 (25.00%) | 4 (33.33%) | 1 (8.33%) | 12 |
| May 20 | 13 (86.67%) | 1 (6.67%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (6.67%) | 15 |
| Jun 20 | 8 (57.14%) | 1 (7.14%) | 4 (28.57%) | 1 (7.14%) | 14 |
| Guilty Plea (All/Some/Lesser) | Not Guilty Verdict | Guilty Verdict (All/Some/Lesser) | Nolle Prosequi | Other | Monthly totals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 TOTAL | 88 (34.11%) | 62 (24.03%) | 78 (30.23%) | 28 (10.85%) | 2 (0.78%) | 258 |
| Jul 19 | 14 (40.00%) | 8 (22.86%) | 10 (28.57%) | 2 (5.71%) | 1 (2.86%) | 35 |
| Aug 19 | 11 (34.38%) | 6 (18.75%) | 13 (40.63%) | 2 (6.25%) | 0 (0%) | 32 |
| Sep 19 | 10 (34.48%) | 13 (44.83%) | 5 (17.24%) | 1 (3.45%) | 0 (0%) | 29 |
| Oct 19 | 5 (23.81%) | 3 (14.29%) | 10 (47.62%) | 3 (14.29%) | 0 (0%) | 21 |
| Nov 19 | 12 (36.36%) | 4 (12.12%) | 14 (42.42%) | 3 (9.09%) | 0 (0%) | 33 |
| Dec 19 | 7 (38.89%) | 2 (11.11%) | 9 (50.00%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 18 |
| Jan 20 | 4 (50.00%) | 2 (25.00%) | 1 (12.50%) | 1 (12.50%) | 0 (0%) | 8 |
| Feb 20 | 7 (24.14%) | 11 (37.93%) | 6 (20.69%) | 5 (17.24%) | 0 (0%) | 29 |
| Mar 20 | 8 (38.10%) | 4 (19.05%) | 4 (19.05%) | 5 (23.81%) | 0 (0%) | 21 |
| Apr 20 | 2 (28.57%) | 2 (28.57%) | 3 (42.86%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 7 |
| May 20 | 4 (26.67%) | 2 (13.33%) | 3 (20.00%) | 5 (33.33%) | 1 (6.67%) | 15 |
| Jun 20 | 4 (40.00%) | 5 (50.00%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (10.00%) | 0 (0%) | 10 |
The trial stage commences one week prior to the date on which the trial was listed to commence and continues up until the closure of the file (not including any appeal).
The proportion of guilty pleas and verdicts within this table correspond only to the number of files that were finalised during the trial stage concluding in the report month and are not representative of the overall conviction rate which includes pleas arising from the post-committal pre-trial stage.
See Conviction rates for more details.
‘Other’ includes matters where the accused is mentally unfit to stand trial or found to be mentally incompetent.