Cape Town - Acting Judge of the Western Cape High Court Daniel Thulare has accused the police of picking “low-hanging fruit” to boost their arrest rates.
The judge made the comment during a ruling in which he overturned a conviction and sentence in a R300 admission of guilt fine case brought by the State against Kerryn Elgin, who was charged with theft from the Clicks store in the Meadow Ridge shopping centre.
In his ruling, the judge said: “The import of the consequences of the accused paying the admission of guilt fine was not explained to the accused, and this deficiency resulted in the failure of justice.
“Like low-hanging fruits, having committed minor offences, the accused was arrested and detained, contrary to the provisions of Section 57. Justice should not be buried in the cemetery of statistics on convictions, for the State to look good on paper in the battle against crime.
“The conviction and sentence is set aside and the amount paid as admission of guilt should be refunded to the accused. The accused may be prosecuted in the ordinary course.”
Elgin had approached the High Court through the offices of the Senior Magistrate at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court, who provided a covering letter to the judge on the matter.
The story began on January 27, 2014 when Elgin visited the store. As she was leaving, she was stopped by security guards and taken to the back room where the guards searched her bag and found a mini-hair straightener and a box of Calmettes to the value of R224.90, which the State alleged she had stolen.
The police were called and Clicks pressed charges against her.
In her affidavit, Elgin alleged that she believed that the police did not follow the correct procedure.
She said that she suffered from depression and anxiety and used antidepressant and anti-psychotic medication which had a grave impact on her mental state, making her feel “spaced out” and not herself.
Elgin said when she entered the store, she was in a daze and that while there she’d had an attack which had heightened her state of anxiety.
She testified that at the police station she was informed that as the value of the items was quite low, she could pay a R300 fine, sign a form and they would release her. She was told that if she did not pay, she would be detained overnight for up to 48 hours or until the court hearing. She was terrified and did not want to go back to the cells.
Elgin said that at no stage during her arrest had she been advised of her rights to legal representation. She did not understand what was happening and did not understand the steps in the process followed.
She said she was just presented with paperwork and told to sign, upon which she would be released, and that it was never explained that the payment of the fine amounted to a permanent criminal record, nor were the repercussions of paying such a fine explained.