Although a commendable attempt has been made through the cluster system to bring different Departments pursuing similar objectives together at various levels, this has obviously not been sufficient to ensure effective co-ordination, one policy environment, and objectives that complement and reinforce each other.

The goal of achieving an integrated justice system, with different components of the system all pulling in the same direction, is a laudable, if complex endeavour that would go a long way in ensuring a more streamlined and focussed justice system using state resources to obtain common outcomes.

This should have the effect of ensuring thorough forensic police investigations by police, informed and completed dockets for prosecutorial action leading to convictions, shorter turn around times between perpetration of criminal activities and trials, better co-ordination between prisons, police and courts, improved management of the thorny issue of awaiting trial prisoners, and so on.

Department peripheral to the Criminal Justice System are the Departments of Social Development and of Health who render critical services to the courts. We hope that this review will also look into how these Departments can be integrated into the same environment.