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Within the largely rural OR Tambo District Municipality (ORTDM), a significant number of community members continue to experience victimization annually. Crime continues to be a persistent issue for both individuals and society at large, with no resolution or justice achieved in its wake. The prevalence of crime in society significantly impacts individuals' behavior, residential choices, and decisions regarding their social activities, including the selection of locations and timing. Typically, individuals tend to experience an increase in fear of becoming a victim of crime, rather than a decrease. This article is characterized by its qualitative approach and use non-probability sampling methodologies. The study aimed to investigate the involvement of traditional leaders in safeguarding women, children, and the elderly from being victimized within the ORTDM community, encompassing the local municipalities of KSD, Ingquza Hill, Mhlontlo, Nyandeni, and Port St. Johns. The primary objective of this discussion paper was to ascertain the specific categories of criminal activities occurring within the territories governed by traditional leaders. This study further demonstrates the significance of examining rural crime and uncovers obstacles that hinder crime prevention in the ORDM. Fifty-eight traditional leaders were interviewed as crucial informants and custodians of the customs of different groups. Traditional leaders, research participants, and community members shared accounts of rape and murder during Imbizos. These incidents involved school-going youngsters and older individuals, including those as old as 95 years. A number of individuals in the neighborhood had paralysis, while others were deprived of their retirement benefits. Traditional leaders argue that, despite this circumstance, the criminal justice system does not give priority to the rights of the victims. The findings together indicate that traditional leaders are involved in the creation, implementation, and monitoring of crime prevention strategies. Nevertheless, the absence of financial support from the government hinders the implementation of crime prevention activities within its jurisdiction. The analysis confirms that crime prevention is an enduring objective. Investing in traditional leaders has the potential to enhance the overall societal well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crucial mandate for any state is that learners attain their education in a safe learning environment. Learners' access to a high-quality, inclusive, equitable education, and their capacity are jeopardised by the pervasive gender-based violence in and around schools. This paper aims to investigate the impact of gender-based violence on girls in the selected secondary schools in Limpopo Province of South Africa. From the qualitative standpoint, coupled with the case study research design, this study used a purposive sample to select 15 (n = 15) participants. Data were collected through literature reviews and the application of semi-structured Key Informant Interviews and analysed using Thematic Analysis. The findings of this study include (i) low school performance, (ii) learners who are dropping out, (iii) learners' inability to exercise their human rights and their right to an education, (iv) lack of a well-resourced and strong criminal justice system, and (v) an intervention team to address the impact of gender-based violence on girls. This study concludes that gender-based violence should be taught as a subject in schools to address the persistent issue in South Africa for learners to understand abuse and violation in the future. This paper recommends that all stakeholders in our society--civil, social workers, and law enforcement authorities--collaborate more closely than they currently do to end gender-based violence against schoolgirls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevalence of undue delays in criminal proceedings in South Africa poses serious implications not only for the accused person's right to a fair trial but also for the rights and interests of crime victims. The South African criminal justice system is overburdened. This is because crime in South Africa is currently at an all-time high, resulting in a clogged court system. Due to this overburdened system, the entire criminal justice system is hampered, and cases take longer to resolve. The impact of these undue delays on crime victims, firstly is that justice delayed is justice denied and society resorts to commit vigilantism as they have lost faith in the criminal justice system. Secondly, there has been a perception from the society that the criminal justice system is biased and favors the rights of offenders or accused persons. In Rodrigues v National Director of Public Prosecutions and Other 2019 (2) SACR 251 (GJ), the court when dealing with undue delays for the first time, rights and interests of crime victims were considered even though the matter took more than 40 years. This judgment revealed the importance of the realisation of speedy trial rights for crime victims. Using the qualitative research method, the literature in this article indicates that the enactment of the right to a speedy trial for crime victims can be beneficial to all parties involved in criminal proceedings to curb undue delays in criminal proceedings. This article outlines the causes of undue delays in criminal proceedings, the impact that these delays have on specific crime victims and argues for the implementation and enforcement of the right to a speedy trial for crime victims in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores some of the shortcomings of the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) in regulating and effecting control over the Private Security Industry (PSI) in South Africa. In South Africa, all Private Security companies must comply with PSIRA by registering as security providers, however this study revealed a non-compliance. This shortcoming is demonstrated by flyby- night security companies that provide security services at shopping centres and shopping malls particularly in the parking areas who fail to comply with PSIRA in terms of registration. The main aim of this research was to analyse whether the PSCs comply with the regulatory framework as per the Private Security Industry Regulation Act 56 of 2001 in South Africa in Gauteng Province. A qualitative research design was applied to determine whether PSIRA enforces compliance as per regulatory framework and to establish whether the current private security service providers are registered with PSIRA. The population of the study involved security managers and owners of the private security companies in South Africa. The findings revealed that there is non- compliance to PSIRA by Security providers. It is recommended that the regulator be capacitated with resources to improve its compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The global spotlight is increasingly shone on the situation of women in the male-dominated prison environment. Africa has observed a 24% increase in its female prison population in the past decade. This year is the 10-year anniversary of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) adopted by the General Assembly on 21 December 2010. Design/methodology/approach: Using a legal realist approach, this paper examines South Africa's progress in adopting the Bangkok Rules. This paper documents the historical evolution of the penal system since colonial times, focused on the development of recognition, protection and promotion of human rights of prisoners and an assessment of incarcerated women's situation over time. Findings: The analysis of the human rights treaties, the non-binding international and regional human rights instruments, African court and domestic jurisprudence and extant academic and policy-based literature is cognizant of the evolutionary nature of racial socio-political dimensions in South Africa, and the indeterminate nature of application of historical/existing domestic laws, policies and standards of care when evaluated against the rule of law. Originality/value: To date, there has been no legal realist assessment of the situation of women in South Africa's prisons. This paper incorporates race and gendered intersectionality and move beyond hetero-normative ideologies of incarcerated women and the prohibition of discrimination in South African rights assurance. The authors acknowledge State policy-making processes, and they argue for substantive equality of all women deprived of their liberty in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incidents of police brutality are an increasing concern around the world. South Africa faces its own excessive use of force by police exemplified by the case(s) of Khosa v Minister of Defence and Military Veterans 2020 7 BCLR 816 (GP) as well as that of Nathaniel Julies. Countries such as the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (US) have seen positive results from leveraging advancements in technology to provide detailed, firsthand accounts of what happens during a police encounter. In light of the fourth industrial revolution, which brings together with it advancements in data processing and storing, the purpose of this paper is to investigate what value can such advancements in technology can bring to the South African criminal justice system and what possible barriers there could be in its implementation. This paper analyses the effects of Body-Worn Cameras in UK and US jurisdictions on improved police-citizen encounters and overall quality of policing. Body-Worn Cameras have been found to have value in improving police-citizen encounters. However, adoption may be slow because of budgetary constraints related to Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few years, South Africa has experienced an enormous increase in the amount and types of illicit drug manufacturing, distribution and use. This has resulted in an increase in the burden of crime and health risks in the community. The patterns of drug availability and drug use have been linked to regional and country variations, socio-economic status, racial and geographical differences. Because of the dramatic increase in the availability of various illicit drugs, identified South Africa as one of the drug centres of the world. This raises concerns about whether law enforcement agencies perform their functions effectively. This paper focuses on the illicit drug networks that hinder the effectiveness of law enforcement in South Africa. The modus operandi (MO) used to produce and smuggle illicit drugs and the challenges experienced by law enforcement to prevent and combat illicit drugs will be discussed. The data was collected through in-depth interviews with experts within the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in South Africa. The study conducted in 2017/2018 in terms of the scientific measurements, has adopted a qualitative approach. Data was collected from a target population consisting of 11 South African Police Service (SAPS) drug-related crime experts, including members of the SAPS specialised detectives of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), crime intelligence members, border police, the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and commanders at ports of entries. A documentary study was used as a secondary method of data collection. Data obtained from interviews were analysed by identifying common themes from the respondents' descriptions of their experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for continuous research on domestic violence could be more espoused by the exponential increase in domestic violence, such that characterized the global reign of corona virus. Domestic violence cases have been on the rise in South Africa since 1994; and despite the existence of legal protections and statutory instruments that attempt to hinder domestic violence, there continues to be prevalence of violent behaviours across different families. Indisputably, the outbreak of coronavirus has created myriads of consequences for justice system in South Africa and the world at large. Due to the outbreak, the South African government announced a lockdown to mitigate the spread of the virus. Nonetheless, within a span of one week of the lockdown, the South African Police Services (SAPS) reported a shocking rise in the number of gender-based violence cases, which was approximately reported as 89000. The lockdown primarily suggests that victims be locked with the perpetrators for a period until it is deemed safe to end the lockdown. Using a systematic review of the empirical literature, the paper provides a quadripartite criminological perspective (comprising differential association theory, classical theory, frustration-aggression theory and social bond theory) on the rise of domestic violence during the outbreak of the virus. It further explores the aftermaths of COVID-19 on criminal justice system in terms of dealing with diverse cases of domestic violence in the Republic. Factors pertaining to issues of access to justice system during the lockdown, poor police response and victim reporting, sense of helplessness by victims, delayed justice, as well as victim support, system are significantly evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study describes rhino poaching as an illicit anti-social behaviour that has constantly been on increase in South Africa. Predominantly, KwaZulu-Natal, and specifically Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, became a highly protected zone for biota and wildlife sustainability. However, with environmental crime becoming more sophisticated in this province, criminal justice and anti-poaching teams need to be more equipped continuously with the necessary tools and strategies, required to stand united against wildlife crime. The study adopted document analysis to explore the use of cell phone data records as a forensic investigative instrument for tracing the frequency and patterns of activities of the two largest syndicate groups of rhino poachers from Mpumalanga and Winterveld to Hluhluwe-imfolozi park. Findings unfolded that cell phone records are a viable cellular geographic tool for tracing the footprints, patterns of movement and activities of illegal rhino hunters, affecting the poaching levels at Hluhluwe-imfolozi Park. The study's findings were incredibly insightful into the behavioural activities of poachers, being one of the first to broaden the lens of cell phone data analysis on this scale. Evidence from the movement analysis revealed that poaching depends on a multitude of factors, such as global pandemic, border control measures, poaching levels rising in reserves, decreased policing measures and a lack of proactive strategies. The study concludes that cell phone data records, considered in isolation, cannot be reflected upon accurately, as a panacea for wildlife crime, without supporting facts from police procedure of intelligence gathering, local knowledge and partnership with local communities. Lastly, within the specific study area, it allowed a unique view and perspective of the travel patterns of very sophisticated and advanced syndicate groups, which also created room for additional deeply rooted studies of poaching activity and incursions in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: It is recognised that the mere proscription of corporate offences is not adequate to deter misconduct or engender compliance. There is a need for the enforcement of the rules through robust culture-changing sanctions. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the inadequacies of criminal law liability in ensuring compliance with ethical corporate conduct in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is purely qualitative. For expository purposes, it draws from the Criminal Procedure Act, 51 of 1977 as well the corporate criminality enforcement trends and data from the National Prosecutions Agency's annual reports to demonstrate that much as criminal liability is enshrined in a statute it has, however, not yielded the expected results. It situates the debate within the broader economic criminological scholarship. Findings: This paper argues that even though the option of prosecuting corporations and directors is part of South African law, many corporate offences are not brought into the criminal justice system. Judging by its erratic imposition, criminal liability has failed to express the indignation and condemnation that are normally attached to criminal sanctions. Several reasons account for this. These include evidentiary, legal, technical and definitional complexities of some corporate offences, which lead to them being regarded as "unprosecutable crimes". This has a negative impact on enforcement. Originality/value: This paper is novel because it approaches the debate from a fresh perspective, economics and criminology. Not much scholarly attention has been devoted to analysing the efficacy of criminal sanctions in the South African context. This paper attempts to fill that gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread fear of crime and its detrimental consequences have propelled various research studies on the correlates of fear of crime. An impressive body of knowledge has accumulated, which informs both scholars and policymakers of the correlates of fear of crime. However, very little is known about fear of crime among immigrant populations. Fear of crime associated with immigrants remains a global phenomenon, which drives political rhetoric, media discourse, policymaking, criminal justice, and immigration control and enforcement. The perceived association between immigrants and criminality is a phenomenon with deep historical roots that transcends any particular culture. It is linked to ethnocentrism and othering; wherein dominant groups react to their exposure to alien cultural practices by criminalizing those practices and dehumanizing the immigrants who practice them. The study aims to explore level of fear of crime among illicit immigrants. Literature analysis was adopted as a methodology to explore the factors impacting on the level of fear and the places where illicit immigrants are likely to be victimised are further discussed. The study contributes significantly on the finding that higher crime levels in countries increase the fear of crime; however, they do not affect feelings of unsafety. Social protection expenditure proves to be an important determinant of both fear of crime and feelings of unsafety. Moreover, distrust in the police, generalized social distrust, and perceived ethnic threat induce fear of crime as well as feelings of unsafety. When considered in the context of social harm, immigrants' relationship to crime and criminality becomes more complex. The study recommends that protective factors, such as neighborhood informal social control, social networks, cultural norms, and expectations about migration and life overall, may contribute to the lower rates of crime and violence among illicit immigrant groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attrition of rape cases within the criminal justice system is driven by different factors. We aimed to describe the patterns of rape case attrition and associated factors in South Africa. We analysed a national sample of 3,952 cases reported in 2012. We found that 35 per cent of cases were closed by police, 31 per cent were declined by the prosecutors, 16 per cent were enrolled but later struck off the roll, 19 per cent went on trial and 9 per cent were finalised with conviction. Aggravating circumstances, availability of forensic evidence and success at perpetrator arrests were key for case progression and increased likelihood of convictions. Thorough police investigations and continual training which addresses negative gender or other rape stereotyping are critical to ensure rape convictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restorative justice is a holistic philosophy that has become increasingly popular in reformist criminal justice debates and criminological research. However, there is some debate as to whether its programs adequately address victims' needs. To this end, this paper analyses the effectiveness of restorative justice practices on victims of crime. Drawing on my interviews conducted with victims of crime and legal experts in South Africa, the findings of this study offer support for the effectiveness of a restorative justice approach to addressing victim satisfaction. Restorative justice can enable the needs of victims to be more fully considered during the criminal justice process. This is very different from contemporary criminal justice, which has often effectively excluded victims from almost every aspect of its proceedings despite its continuous reform to protect and promote victims' rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to ascertain whether refugees who are victims of sexual violence in contracting states enjoy access to courts per Article 16 of the United Nations (UN) Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951 Refugee Convention). It does so by comparing the situation of urban refugees in South Africa with that of refugees in camps in Tanzania and settlements in Uganda, beginning with a description of what "accessing courts" entails in the respective domestic criminal justice systems and of what mechanisms are in place for addressing sexual offences. It further uses the qualitative analysis of documented prosecuted cases of sexual violence in South African, Tanzanian and Ugandan courts between 2013-2017, 2009-2016 and 2013-2017 respectively to establish if these countries prosecute cases of sexual violence suffered by their citizens and whether claims of such violations affecting refugees also enjoy the same treatment. The enquiry found that of 328 documented prosecuted cases of sexual offences in South Africa, victims who were citizens were a majority in number. In Tanzania there appeared to be few prosecuted cases of sexual violence against refugees, but given that limited documentation is available, it is difficult to assess the actual figures. In Uganda the 187 recorded prosecuted cases of sexual offences in the years of investigation all related to citizens, despite the introduction of a mobile court to refugee settlements. Overall, this paper recommends that the countries under review adopt measures to ensure the prompt prosecution of cases of sexual violence against refugees and thereby enable them to access courts and testify against their assailants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years there has been the emergence of global and local anti-gender-based violence movements such as #MeToo and, in South Africa, #menaretrash, which has precipitated an increase in the disclosure of the names of the alleged perpetrators of sexual violence by the survivors. The increase in the disclosure of these names has been met with the intensification of legal processes by alleged perpetrators to counter and silence survivors. This case note will focus on the recent appeal case of S v P 2022 2 SACR 81 (WCC) in the High Court of South Africa, Western Cape Division, in Cape Town. In this case the court had to consider whether the court a quo was correct in issuing a final protection order (in terms of the Protection from Harassment Act 17 of 2011) against the appellant (S) where the court a quo found that her act of harassment was a third party's public disclosure of the respondent (P) as her rapist. It will be argued that the Western Cape High Court was correct in finding that the court a quo should not have issued a final protection order against S. It will be further argued that the reasons to overturn this decision included the court a quo's failure to appreciate the gendered purpose of the Protection from Harassment Act and that P misused and abused the Act in order to silence S. It will then be argued that one of the reasons why survivors choose to disclose alleged perpetrators' names on social platforms is a societal contextual reason, which includes the high rates of gender-based violence in South Africa alongside the high rates of attrition in gender-based violence cases in the criminal justice system. Finally, I will consider the cases of Mdlekeza v Gallie 2021 (WCHC) (unreported) case number 15490/2020 of 20 April 2021 and Booysen v Major (WCHC) (unreported) case number 5043/2021 of 30 August 2012 and argue that these cases are further examples of this abuse of process employed to silence survivors. With the courts seeing an increase in these applications to silence victims, it is argued that the courts must adopt a feminist-contextualised approach in order to avoid gagging survivors of gender-based violence and being complicit in the increasing weaponisation of court processes by alleged perpetrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societies` views concerning the Criminal Justice System institutions are shaped not only by opportunities to interact with such institutions during normal work but also in part by efforts due to the larger mission (of these institutions) of encouraging and supporting such attitudes. Due to the global COVID 19 pandemic, most countries have implemented a lockdown as an initiative to control the spread of the virus. South Africa is no exception as the country joined most countries and announced the national lockdown in March 2020. With the national lockdown, Criminal Justice agencies such as the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were deployed across the country to ensure compliance with the lockdown regulations. The police are the most visible and powerful arm of the state, the nature of the state and the way it is perceived has a profound impact on police-community relations and vice versa. With South Africa’s pronouncement of the national lockdown and state of emergency due to the pandemic, more inquiries and investigations into police practice during the national lockdown will be made. It is precisely in this context that this study aims to reflect on police-community relations during the national lockdown. A criminological analysis on the ramifications of the dented police-community relations due to the national lockdown will be explored. With the national lockdown regulations, clearly gazetted, this study will also employ criminological theories to further interrogate the regulations that impacted on the dented police-community relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a study of how Finland, a Western democracy which has considerably reduced its rate of recidivism, could help South Africa achieve more effective crime control, despite vested interests (such as the prison-industrial-complex, which profits from the perpetuation of crime). This contribution also considers Braithwaite's seminal distinction between stigmatising and integrative shaming cultures and how Finland, even though it has a stigmatising shaming culture, has achieved a recidivism rate of around 31% (with deincarceration at 53/100 000). This is much better than South Africa's unacceptably high 86-94% (259/100 000). By using a conflict transformation theoretical lens, it is argued that this great accomplishment in Finland manifests as a result of a meaningful acknowledgement of offenders' and ex-offenders' basic human needs, thereby removing this primary source of human conflict. In conclusion, Finland's criminal justice system is a good blueprint that South Africa's Department of Correctional Services should seriously consider emulating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child sexual abuse is a silent crime committed under the veil of disguise. Almost all the developing countries are facing this problem. The only effective mechanism in a civilized society to protect children against sexual crimes is the criminal justice system of a country. The criminal justice system needs legislative developments to prevent and curtail child sexual abuse and to protect children against sexual crimes more effectively and strictly. This paper will examine the legislative developments protecting children against sexual crimes in the criminal justice system of developing countries such as South Africa, Pakistan and India. The reason for choosing South Africa as a model country is that policy and legislative framework are in place in South Africa supporting the child rights. A lot of legislative developments have been introduced in the criminal justice system of South Africa. Considering the nature of the paper literature review method is used to formulate this paper. The legislative developments addressing child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system of South Africa will be examined to form the basis of effective legislative developments in the criminal justice system of Pakistan and India to protect children against sexual crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continued relevance of customary law for the regulation of the daily lives of Africa's citizens poses serious governance challenges to sovereign states, such as how best to regulate customary dispute settlement. While confronted with largely similar problems, the South African government proposed to enhance and regulate the position of its traditional courts, whereas Malawi has opted for the creation of hybrid local courts that combine characteristics of regular state courts and customary fora to be the main avenue of customary law cases. This paper analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches and displays how the two countries' historical and political contexts enable and constrain their regulatory choices in the field of customary dispute settlement, as well as influence the risk and benefits of the various options. In this respect, the political power of the traditional leaders is a significant determinant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking is not a new problem in South Africa and statistics have indicated that it is on the increase. The crime of human trafficking is clandestine and complex. Human trafficking is a complex issue that can be considered from different perspectives and its associated legal framework, in very general terms, states will be responsible for their own acts or omissions that breach their obligations under international law, including human rights law. This article explores and attempts to find solutions for victims of human trafficking. This study utilised a phenomenological qualitative framework following semi-structured interviews. The sampling methods adopted for this study were purposive, using snowball sampling, where the authors could identify the samples, one after the other, through references given earlier. It focused on 40 participants from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the Gauteng Provincial Office, from Pretoria, Springs and Kempton Park. The key findings indicated that the challenges are corruption, lack of motivation and commitment to combat human trafficking, lack of limited awareness and information about the human trafficking scourge in South Africa, the findings also indicated a lack of clear strategy and response by stakeholders to successfully investigate, prosecute and incarcerate the perpetrators of human trafficking and the findings further indicated lack of capacity, resources and training to deal with human trafficking. Based on the findings, the author provided, possible recommendations such as; the utilisation of advanced technology and use of intelligence-led policing to strengthen the work of stakeholders, advanced training and better education including improved awareness strategies; and the utilisation of social media as a tool to deal with human trafficking and strengthening of enforcement responses and reporting techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking is generally understood to refer to the process through which individuals are placed or maintained in an exploitative situation for economic gain. Trafficking can occur within a country or may involve movement across borders. Women, men and children are trafficked for a range of purposes, including forced and exploitative labour in factories, farms and private households, sexual exploitation, and forced marriage. Trafficking affects all regions and most countries of the world and South Africa is no exception. This study attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the South African Criminal Justice System (CJS) in combating human trafficking. This study was carried out utilising a qualitative approach. Forty interviews were carried out among officials deployed in the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), the Department of Social Development (DSD), the Gauteng Provincial Office, as well as with the victims regarding their views and experiences on the stakeholder’s involvement in combating and investigating human trafficking. The key findings indicated that the challenges are lack of resources, capacity, budget and lack of cooperation from victims of human trafficking in supporting ongoing investigations, in adequate awareness was also a major challenge for law enforcement agencies, training, knowledge and skills to deal with human trafficking was identified to be also a big challenge for the relevant stakeholders, the findings also indicated a lack of clear strategy and response by stakeholders to successfully investigate, prosecute and incarcerate the perpetrators of human trafficking. Based on the findings, the author provided, possible recommendations such as; the South African government should develop internet regulations and policies to regulate the internet, advanced training and better education including improved awareness strategies; and collaboration with community police forums to strengthen partnerships, improve support and ensure relationship between the SAPS and the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on ethnographic data collected in a police station, renamed Blue Hills police station, located on the Cape Flats in the Western Cape of South Africa. The data is presented as three vignettes, each focusing on the production of a police docket and its movement across branches of the criminal justice system of South Africa. Particular attention is paid to the move of each docket from the Uniform Branch to the Detective Branch (both being part of the same institutional network, but represented by different actors pursuing specific goals). My analysis draws on actor network theory used to conceptualize the creation of networks as a translation process. In this paper, I concentrate on problematization – representing the first stage in the translation process and a core element of defining network relations (Callon 1986). As my analysis will show, “problematization” is at the core of creating stable network relations in my case, and a salient feature observable in trans-contextual meaning making around dockets as a moving object. I also draw on the notions of “enactive work” and “recognition work” (Gee 2000). to explore how the police docket, understood as a boundary object, is created and re-interpreted across contexts, being the nexus point through which various and often contradictory ontologies flow, intersect and mingle. I argue that tensions which arise when police dockets travel trans-contextually – in this case from the Uniform Branch to the Detective Branch – are tamed (Mol 2002). This taming is the outcome of an interplay between enactive work performed by officers in the Uniform Branch and recognition work performed by officers in the Detective Branch. I argue that this interplay is necessary in order to create network stability across sites of practice, especially given the fact that police dockets are boundary objects which possess a “high degree of interpretive flexibility” (Dugdale 1999). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking is perceived to be a serious and growing problem worldwide. Yet for many years, society as a whole, and the policing profession in particular in South Africa, did not fully grasp the scale and complexity of the problem or its impact. The article seek to understand and determine the perceptions of police regarding human trafficking in South Africa. The study followed a qualitative approach and purposive sampling was used to select 28 participants in three selected areas of Gauteng Province. The findings revealed that the police lack intensive training on issues of human trafficking and further revealed that police were not able to differentiate between the victims of human trafficking and prostitution. The police should be given adequate time, funding, and training needed to establish a wide base of experience and knowledge from which they can draw upon for future human trafficking investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of police corruption faces seemingly insurmountable sampling and validity problems. This paper outlines an experimental technique for overcoming these issues by challenging the assumption that corruption is not prone to systematic observational research. Incident reporting combines a 'combing' procedure for sampling observable incidents of corruption in public spaces with a benchmarking procedure for coding observations of misconduct. After introducing the new forms of analysis that this technique makes feasible the paper reviews unique values and limitations of incident reporting. The main contention is that the technique constitutes a valuable tool for improving the study of everyday police corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the largest donor-funded projects since 1994 concerning reform of South African policing is described in this paper. The project, Assistance to Policing in the Eastern Cape, targeted policing work in a province acknowledged to rank lowest in the country on numerous human development indicators. The paper outlines the various components of the project, sketches the overall implementation of its objectives, and attempts to arrive at a provisional assessment of the project's impact in an environment inhospitable for administrative efficiency. It concludes with a brief review of developments at the end of the project cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of a quantitative study undertaken at South African Police Service stations across the Western Cape Province, measuring what we term committed intake compliance with sexual offences law. Fifty police stations were surveyed for compliance with the first layer of procedural and service requirements for receiving a victim’s report of a sexual offence. On average, stations complied with only 68% of the measured requirements. The authors analyze patterns in compliance that likely contribute to the drop-out of rape and sexual assault cases from the criminal justice system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article address the nature of the duty resting on South African prosecutors to provide reasons for the decision to prosecute or to decline or discontinue a prosecution.

In every society, the main purpose of the criminal justice system is to maintain social order and ensure that citizens comply with the law. To do this effectively, the police and court systems need citizen cooperation and obedience, and willingness to assist with criminal investigations and report crimes to the police. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between confidence in the media and confidence in the criminal justice institutions in South Africa. The study tests two objectives: to assess South Africans' level of confidence in the police and courts, and to determine whether citizens' levels of confidence in both the print and televised media will influence their levels of confidence in the police, courts, and in the criminal justice system in general. Utilizing data from the World Values Survey, results reveal a significant and positive relationship between confidence in the media and confidence in the criminal justice institutions. Policy implications of this observation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues for the inclusion of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) into the criminal justice administration of South Africa, which will ultimately result in the comprehensive legal transformation of the country's justice system. Non-traditional dispute resolution processes, which fall within the context of ADR, are globally accepted and have been implemented in different dispute contestations. The argument whether ADR should be applied in a criminal justice context, poses normative questions concerning the function of the justice system, and sociological questions concerning the nature of criminals and crimes. Crime rates in South Africa are high and the criminal justice system may be unable to cope with the floodgates of formal litigation. In this context the article argues for the integration of ADR into the South African criminal justice system. Two major research problems are addressed through reviewing existing literature and doing desktop research. The first aspect concerns the integration of ADR into the South African criminal justice system with a view to effecting law reforms. Second, the question regarding the roles of traditional rulers in resolving criminal disputes is explored. The conclusions reached relate to the need for law reformation in South Africa, particularly in respect of the integration of ADR into criminal jurisprudence, in order to become aligned with other jurisdictions the world over. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protection of child victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system is of vital importance, as present-day research studies conducted on the victimisation of children in South Africa show that South African children in particular experience and witness exceptionally high levels of crime, and consequently represent a significant portion of the victims and witnesses that have to appear in court to testify about these crimes. This contribution consists of an in-depth discussion of the rights of the child victim and witness encompassed in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 in order to determine whether the current protection afforded to child victims and witnesses while testifying in criminal proceedings in South Africa is in line with South Africa's constitutional obligations. In this regard the general constitutional rights in the Bill of Rights relating to child victims and witnesses as well as the specific constitutional rights of child victims and witnesses in section 28 of the Constitution are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article evaluates the efforts of the South African criminal justice system in combating human trafficking. The phenomenon of human trafficking has been a resonating issue of concern to the South African State. Several women, children and, to a lesser degree, men have been entrapped in the web of exploitation produced via trafficking in the country. Steps have been taken by the State to combat the scourge by listing human trafficking as a crime that requires an effective criminal justice response and by enacting an antitrafficking law. But despite these steps, this menace is increasing instead of diminishing. The findings of a broader doctoral study on examining human trafficking and the response of the South African criminal justice system (a study that used a mixed-method approach) revealed, for example, that the South African criminal justice system was unable to effectively combat human trafficking in the country. Specifically, the study found that the triggering factors that engendered the vulnerability and eventual exploitation of people through trafficking fell outside the scope of the justice system. The findings also indicated a strong linkage between the failure of social institutions and a rise in human trafficking in the country. This article provides recommendations for an approach that has enduring effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the propriety of long-term efforts of the South African criminal justice system in combating human trafficking. Though a crime of global dimension, human trafficking has been a reverberating issue of concern to the South African State. Steps have been taken by the State to address this menace, especially from the legal standpoint, and the enlistment of human trafficking among crimes that require an effective criminal justice approach to deal with; yet, the menace has persisted. From a broader doctoral study, using qualitative method, it was discovered (amongst others) that as currently structured, the South African criminal justice system cannot effect a long-term combating strategies against human trafficking. Findings also indicate that the solution to the precipitating factors that fuel the trade in human commodity lies outside the scope and mandate of the criminal justice system. The study further recommends that for an effective response, it is expedient for the State to first address the socio-economic, cultural and political nuances that fuel the trade, rather than mount impracticable pressure on its criminal justice institutions to perform an unrealistic task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the world, including in South Africa, there is a growing recognition that the state police are but one actor within a hybrid policing field involved in the production of security. How exactly this mix works at micro levels, and through what processes and with what outcomes requires a great deal of investigation. Based on an ethnographic study of two distinct local initiatives that illustrate the 'nodal' character of security governance, this paper explores the broader question of how the public police are, and should be, locating themselves within networks to ensure the delivery of 'good' public security outcomes. The authors advance a conception of 'minimalist' policing -- one centred on re-affirming and bolstering the unique authority and capacities of the public police -- as a possible normative guide to the design of optimally effective and democratic nodal arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poland and South Africa have each inherited a similar legacy of human rights violations perpetrated by previous authoritarian regimes; they each underwent complicated political transitions and used similar methods of dealing with the remnants of their previous regimes. South Africa granted amnesty from criminal prosecution to perpetrators in exchange for truth about their involvement in the violations of the past. In Poland leading public posts were granted in accordance with the same principle of truth exchange. However, existing frameworks for the study of transitional justice do not allow for immediate comparison of the relative benefits and pitfalls of granting amnesty to criminals vis-à-vis measures to provide public sector employment. This paper extends the existing framework of transitional justice and applies it to the study of the major policy choices of the Polish lustration process (1999–2002) and the South African amnesty process (1996–2000). They encompass components such as the formal scope of truth, the choice of particular procedures, sanctions, transparency and impartiality. The comparison provides us with a more nuanced understanding of the institutional mechanisms that allow for the utilisation of the meaning of truth in complicated transitions from authoritarian regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a project established in 1990 to assist complainants with learning disabilities in sexual assault cases in Cape Town, South Africa. Complainants are prepared for court and psychologists advise investigating officers and prosecutors, and provide expert testimony. There has been an enormous increase in the utilization of the project by justice personnel. This paper examines 100 cases seen over a 10-year period. We describe the demographics and sexual abuse history of the cohort as well as documenting speed of investigation and outcome of the trials. Almost all charges were of rape and most complainants had learning disabilities in the mild or moderate categories. No men with learning disabilities were among the accused. We raise questions about which cases are perceived as evidentially strong. The conviction rate of 28% was almost identical to the best conviction rate in such cases in the general population in South Africa. In contrast to recent research into conviction rates in South Africa, these cases appear to have been vigorously pursued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the ten years since the establishment of South Africa's first inclusive democratic government, an ambitious, extensive and systematic process of reform has been carried out in the governance of security. The process is widely regarded as having been successful and a model for other processes of 'security sector reform' in the context of transitions from authoritarian forms of governance to democratic ones. That this been achieved with hardly a shot fired in anger is a remarkable achievement and a credit to visionary political leadership as well as organisational capacity, in other words to effective security governance. At the same time, progress has been uneven and sometimes fragmentary, policy intentions and commitments have not always been translated into practice, the end results have not been to everyone's liking, and transformation has engendered its own pathologies. Thus several challenges remain in improving security governance. This article provides a broad overview of the roles played by the various actors in the governance of the security sector, including the executive, parliament and civil society. It examines the main policy frameworks and touches on organisational transformation, because it is impossible to deal with governance in isolation from these issues. Policy processes and the frameworks they give rise to - in particular - are critical for effective governance. This article deals with the defence, safety and security and intelligence fields. A comprehensive overview would need to include the governance of criminal justice and foreign policy. The article does not seek to make an overall evaluation of governance, but to identify achievements, shortfalls and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three post-conflict approaches have emerged on the African continent during the past decade. 'Pardon', 'punishment' and 'amnesia' represent different routes followed by South Africa, Rwanda and Mozambique in the aftermath of conflict. What pragmatic considerations and cultural resources predisposed each to pursue the path it did? This paper looks at the reasons for the choice to hold a truth commission, to prosecute through trials or to forget the past. It assesses the models' effectiveness, and concludes with an observation that they are not as distinct from each other as they first appear. South Africa, Rwanda (after 2002) and Mozambique have all opted for approaches that emphasised the priority of reintegrating perpetrators back into the community. This goal may be served best by methods other than trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Routine activity theory proposes that a crime will take place within a criminal's area of social interaction. This space is delimited by his/her workplace, residence and/or place of recreation. This theory, however, has not been tested to include substance use, especially in the South African context. Therefore, where such substances are obtained and used the location of subsequent criminal activities needs to be incorporated in this theory. Given this context, the paper tests the hypothesis that as drug users expand their activity sphere they also expand their crime space. The analysis is based upon an HSRC national survey of arrestees in which data on their place of work, residence, leisure and drug obtaining were collected. These data were linked by GIS and analysed to establish relationships between the social interaction sphere and drug obtaining of the respondents. This expected expanded behaviour is analysed spatially and used to identify hot spots and high priority areas for police intervention. These results assist in making predictions about places where substances can be expected to be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes a recent book by British criminologist Jock Young on crime and social exclusion in late modernity as a starting point for the development of a critical criminology of post-apartheid South Africa. The first section of the article locates Young's work within the British tradition, of critical criminology with which he has long been associated. This is followed by a summary of the main arguments advanced in The Exclusive Society. In the second half of the paper these arguments are used to explore the nature and causes of crime in contemporary South Africa. It is suggested that the country's democratic transition can be characterized, following Young, as a shift from one form of exclusive society to another. The article ends with a plea for the work of theorists like Young to be used as the basis for a critical South African criminology capable of meeting the challenges of the challenges of the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the shifts in policing in South Africa toward community oriented policing, in line with international trends in policing. In so doing, the paper locates policing in South Africa within the global context of democratisation, privatisation, and citizen involvement The main thrust of the paper, however, is to understand how rank and file police officers in Kwazulu Natal have received police reformation, and whether they feel willing and equipped to move toward a new style of policing. The paper argues that while these officers in the main appear to acknowledge and even welcome policing shifts, they are ill equipped, and lack the training to be able to successfully make this transition. Furthermore, the social and political realities of KwaZulu Natal, in particular its divided communities, make accountable and consultative policing extremely difficult Despite the difficulties of this change process, if state democracy is to become a reality, the South African Police Service need to be the key players in creating a secure environment in KwaZulu Natal. This has to be done through changing both the internal workings of the state police, and their relations with their "external" public clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crime has gained an extraordinary pre-eminence among the social problems of our age, and preventing it has become a priority for many governments around the world. This has led to some significant normative disagreements about the relationship between crime pre- vention and social policy. Different bodies of work warn against both the `criminalization of social policy' and the `socialization of crime prevention'. The more integrated notion of `social police' put forward 200 years ago by Patrick Coiquhoun, and the complex relationships between crime prevention, social policy and development that emerge from policy documents published in South Africa since 1994, suggest that, under certain circumstances, crime prevention may indeed be a legitimate goal of social policy, but that a principled approach to deciding its relative priority in the development process is needed if crime is not to be allowed to trump all other social problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper attempts to gauge the possible future of policing in South Africa by assessing the nature of the relationship between the South African Police Service (SAPS) and private security companies operating in the Western Cape. An investigation was conducted whereby the current concerns within the private security industry were assessed in relation to the developing relations with the SAPS, In so doing it was found that, despite the fact that there exists an informal co-operative relationship with the public police, there may be a number of inherent problems within the private security industry hampering the creation of a formal relationship with the SAPS in the Western Cape. These inherent problems include, for example, the fact that the industry is highly competitive and consumer-orientated (not necessarily community-orientated). Also that the industry has a stigma attached to it and demonstrates a bureaucratic nature despite being run on business principles, and the accountability of the industry is also called into question. It is therefore in view of these developing public-private relations and obstacles thereto that one can possibly predict the future role of private security in the policing of society in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses looks at the promises and failures of the criminal justice system in South Africa as of 2017. It looks at the country's overburdened criminal justice system as evident in the murder trials of black woman Betty Ketani and white man Michael Thomson. Also discussed is Justice Dikgang Moseneke's view of the country's criminal justice system and recommendations on how policymakers could improve the system by focusing on areas including police work, judiciary and credibility.

The trafficking of children is an organised crime that threatens national security. Various stakeholders have been prompted to respond to this scourge but with minimal success. The trafficking of human beings, particularly children, across international borders is undoubtedly the most significant new facet of organised crime. The objective of this Article is to integrate perceptions of experts within the Criminal Justice System [CJS] (specifically police officials and the public prosecutors) and the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on the trafficking of children in South Africa. Fourteen (14) selected participants formed part of the key informant interviews conducted by the researchers. It was found that the problem of child trafficking is moving "from a matter of regional and national concern to one of international debate and possible global persuasion and policy intervention" (Basu & Tzannatos, 2003: 147). The researchers recommend that in crafting policy for modifying this enormous problem of our times, it is imperative to start with a proper theoretical and empirical understanding of the phenomenon. The article provides answers to the questions: What gives rise to child trafficking? What are the consequences of this practice? What intervention systems are or should be in place? The article refers to the large and rapidly growing literature on this subject, focusing mainly on the new literature. This Article also looks at some of the broad policy implications of these new findings, with the objective of contributing to better informed discussion and policy design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the foreign donor assistance and policing program in South Africa. Reconstruction of the civilian police agencies; Overview on the experience of foreign donor assistance to the criminal justice sector; Influence of donor assistance micro-politics on recipient and donor communities.

Consensus is building around the need for transitional justice to secure redress for corporate human rights abuses. However, there has been less scrutiny of the transitional justice mechanisms to be deployed in pursuit of corporate accountability. This article therefore questions the extent to which truth commissions and restorative justice theory can serve the aims of corporate accountability in the context of transitional justice. To do this, the article examines the Business Hearings held by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in particular focusing on the interactions between the Congress of South African Unions and Anglo American Corporation. The findings reveal how the rhetoric of restorative justice was used as a basis for reintegrating business into post-apartheid South Africa, whilst denying the need for reparations. The article concludes by addressing key lessons learnt, and warns against relying on truth commissions as a basis for delivering corporate accountability within transitional justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how political events may endanger judicial independence and includes information on the reported interference with the functions of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

Focuses on social policy. Standards and preconditions for qualities of life; Principles of social development.