4. Critical baseline adjustments for security services. In recent years, it has become vital for the Department to secure its assets, judicial officers, prosecutors, as well as court records. Through reprioritisation of its budget, the Department has increased the budget for security services by 12% over an eight-year period from 2008/09 to 2015/16. This reprioritisation has, however, adversely affected service delivery areas in the Department. The cost of guarding services has grown exponentially. (Notably, the latest information indicates that the Department requires a total of 5896 security officers to cover key areas of the Department, including the prosecutions services and their National Office). Also, the general infrastructure costs have escalated. Limited funds have led to some of the security projects planned being reduced. The National Security Infrastructure project, which was meant to reduce reliance on external service providers and build sustainable capacity in the Department, was initially intended to cover 127 courts in phase 1 of a 3 to 4- phase approach. Projected expenditure patterns indicate that only 90- 98 sites can be covered. In addition, finalising the plan remains a challenge and this affects preventative maintenance of security equipment. The Department has requested that the following amounts be allocated for security: R361.5, R399.2 and R441.4 million for 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16 respectively.