National Prosecuting Authority - Business Units of The NPA

Business Units of The NPA

The National Prosecuting Authority comprises various core business units:-

The National Prosecution Service ("NPS") is composed of the various DPP offices (and their subordinates) and are responsible for the day to day criminal prosecutions. State Advocates (attached to the office of the DPP) prosecute matters in the Superior Courts, whilst Public Prosecutors (attached to various Magistrate's Courts), prosecute matters in the Lower Courts.

The Directorate of Special Operations ("DSO" or Scorpions) was launched on 1 September 1999, in Cape Town, as a step towards putting in place the necessary machinery to eradicate organised crime in South Africa. It was the birth of what is envisaged to become a world-class law enforcement agency. The DSO was later disbanded in July 2009 and the investigative capacity transferred to the South African Police Service

The Asset Forfeiture Unit ("AFU") was established in May 1999, to give effect to certain provisions in the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Act 121 of 1998) allowing for the criminal or civil seizure (and subsequent forfeiture to the State) of assets belonging to perpetrators of crime. Once forfeited, these assets are realised and are utilised to compensate the victims of crime and/or are ploughed back into law enforcement.

Sexual Offences and Community Affairs ("SOCA") was established in October 1999, with the main objective of eradicating all forms of gender-based violence against women and children. The Unit comprises four sections, namely the Sexual Offences Section; the Domestic Violence Section; the Maintenance Section; and the Child Justice Section.

The Specialised Commercial Crime Unit ("SCCU") was established with the focal objective of prosecuting serious economic offences, such as Fraud and related offences.

The Witness Protection Unit ("WPU") essentially provides support services to vulnerable and intimidated witnesses and related persons in any judicial proceedings in the Criminal Justice System. The unit also provides assistance and co-operation to other countries, Tribunals and Special Courts, in the field of Witness Protection. The functions and duties of the WPU are classified "SECRET" in terms of the Witness Protection Act.

The Priority Crimes Litigation Unit ("PCLU") was created by Presidential proclamation on 23 March 2003. In terms of its mandate, it is to manage and direct investigations and prosecutions relating to: criminal prosecutions arising from the Rome Statute; crimes against the State, including national and international terrorism; matters emanating from the Truth and Reconciliation process (the "TRC") and contraventions of The Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act (Act No 15 of 1998), the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act (Act No 87 of 1993), The National Conventional Arms Control Act (Act No 41 of 2002), The Nuclear Energy Act (Act No 46 of 1999) and The Intelligence Services Act (Act No 65 of 2002).

The Integrity Management Unit ("IMU") is a relatively new unit, tasked to continually assess, prevent, monitor, evaluate and maintain the NPA's integrity so that it is not in any way compromised. The IMU is further tasked to have complete oversight of the reactive systems and processes in instances where there has been a compromise of the organisation’s integrity.

Corporate Services ("CS") is tasked to focus on servicing customer needs and to concentrate resources to provide low cost, high quality corporate service support to multiple business partners within the NPA.