scholarly journals Enabling the enabler: Using access to information to ensure the right to peaceful protest

2017 ◽  
pp. 51-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsangadzaome Alexander Mukumba ◽  
Imraan Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
South African Police ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Access ◽  
Responsible Person

The Regulation of Gatherings Act (RGA) places strict guidelines on how to exercise the right to protest, with particular emphasis on the submission of a notice of gathering to the responsible person within a municipality in terms of sections 2(4) and 3 of the Act. However, municipalities do not proactively make the notice of gathering templates available for public use (or may not have these at all), and often do not publicise the details of the designated responsible person. To test municipalities’ compliance with the RGA, the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) enlisted the help of the South African History Archive (SAHA) to submit a series of Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) requests to every municipality in South Africa. PAIA requests were also submitted to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for records relating to public order policing. The initiative aimed to provide these templates and related documents to interested parties as an open source resource on the protestinfo.org.za website. The results of these efforts show that compliance with the RGA is uneven. This article explores the flaws in the regulatory environment that have led to this level of apathy within government, despite the crucial role of the right to protest and the right of access to information as enabling rights in our constitutional democracy. An analysis of the full PAIA request dataset shows the extent of government’s resistance to facilitating these enabling rights, and provides insights into remedial interventions. The article concludes with a series of recommendations, which centre on statutory reforms to the RGA and PAIA to ensure appropriate sanction for non-compliance by government, proactive disclosure of relevant information, and emergency provisions allowing curtailed procedural requirements. The intention of the proposed amendments is to minimise the possibility that these fundamental, enabling rights might be frustrated.

scholarly journals UNFIT TO OWN A FIREARM? The role of the police in firearm control

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Minnaar ◽  
Duxita Mistry
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
The South ◽  
Police Service ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Firearm Control ◽  
South African Police ◽  
Lack Of Knowledge

This article draws on a study that examined aspects of the implementation by the South African Police Service (SAPS) of section 11 of the old Arms and Ammunition Act. This section refers to the declaration by the police of a person to be unfit to possess a licensed firearm.Although the police are more vigilant than ever about declaring people unfit, their lack of knowledge about the process needs to be addressed, as does the tendency of police and prosecutors to blame each other for problems that arise. Unless these deficiencies are ironed out soon, they will obstruct the execution of the new Firearms Control Act.

scholarly journals The Use of Force in Effecting Arrest in South Africa and the 2010 Bill: a Step in the Right Direction

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Tharien Van der Walt
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
International Policies ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
South African Police ◽  
The Right

In South Africa the use of force in effecting arrest is statutorily governed by section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.  The inception of the Constitution brought about a dramatic change in South African law in this regard.  During 2001 and 2002 the two highest courts in the country had to decide on the constitutionality of sections 49(1) and 49(2) respectively.  The Supreme Court of Appeal in Govender v Minister of Safety and Security 2001 2 SACR 197 (SCA)  did not declare section 49(1) unconstitutional but found it had to be interpreted restrictively ("read down") to survive constitutional scrutiny.  The Constitutional Court on the other hand confirmed the unconstitutionality of section 49(2) in S v Walters 2002 2 SACR 105 (CC) and the section was declared invalid.  By then (as early as 1998) the legislature had already promulgated an amendment to section 49, but the amendment came into operation only in 2003 after section 49 had undergone intensive constitutional scrutiny.  Legal scholars and others raised serious objections against the amendment – some were even of the opinion that it created a "right to flee" and that the rights of perpetrators were protected to the detriment of law-abiding citizens.  The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in 2010 drafted an Amendment Bill which was subsequently approved in Parliament.  This paper discusses and concludes on: the developments over the last years in the South African law with regard to the use of force in effecting arrest by the South African Police Service (SAPS); international policies and guidelines of the police in this regard; and the application of the provisions of the Amendment Bill in practice and the possible pitfalls in the application of the latter. 

scholarly journals Giving substance to political will: The role of the SAPS in destroying firearms

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Coetzee ◽  
Noel Stott
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
The South ◽  
African Region ◽  
African Government ◽  
Small Arms ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
South African Police

The South African government has consistently stated that peace and security in the Southern African region and on the African continent must remain a top priority. This progressive attitude toward regional security is evident in South Africa's approach to the control of small arms and light weapons at a national, regional and international level. This article examines the firearm destruction policies and processes of the South African Police Service (SAPS). It analyses the positive effects and the negative outcomes of the decision to decentralise firearm destruction to provincial level.

scholarly journals Exploring the role of a total rewards strategy in retaining South African police officers in Limpopo province

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndivhudzannyi R. Mukwevho ◽  
Mark H.R. Bussin
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Turnover Intentions ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
The South ◽  
Police Service ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Total Rewards ◽  
South African Police

Orientation: The South African Police Service is facing significant challenges in retaining its staff. A total rewards strategy could help the South African Police Service to enhance staff retention.Research purpose: This study explored the role of a total rewards strategy in retaining South African police officers in Limpopo province.Motivation of the study: The shortage of police officials has a negative effect on the South African Police Service’s endeavours to retain its employees.Research approach, design and method: This was a qualitative research study where semi-structured interviews were conducted on the sample size of 14 police officers in Limpopo.Main findings: The outcomes revealed that performance management, career development and employees’ compensation were ineffectively applied to police stations. Employees were firmly thinking about leaving the police because of poor rewards. The members were genuinely happy with their work benefits and work–life balance.Practical/managerial implications: The South African Police Services should implement total reward strategy to improve staff retention.Contribution/value-add: This study presented challenging areas in the reward framework of the South African Police Service employees and the subsequent impact thereof on their turnover intentions.

Empowering Women in Blue Uniforms—Gender and Police in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanta Singh ◽  
Sultan Khan
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Female Police Officers ◽  
South African Police ◽  
Female Officers

Gender in the police force has received scant attention by researchers, although there are complex social dimensions at play in how male and female law enforcement officers relate to each other in the workplace. Given the fact that males predominate in the police force, their female counterparts are often marginalised due to their sexual orientation and certain stereotypes that prevail about their femininity. Male officers perceive female officers as physically weak individuals who cannot go about their duties as this is an area of work deemed more appropriate to men. Based on this perception, female officers are discriminated against in active policing and often confined to administrative duties. This study looks at how female police officers are discriminated against in the global police culture across the globe, the logic of sexism and women’s threat to police work, men’s opposition to female police work, gender representivity in the police force, and the integration and transformation of the South African Police Service to accommodate female police officers. The study highlights that although police officers are discriminated against globally, in the South African context positive steps have been taken to accommodate them through legislative reform.

Safeguarding the Republic? The South African Police Service, Legitimacy and the Tribulations of Policing a Violent Democracy

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-108
Author(s):  
Guy Lamb
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
The South ◽  
Police Service ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
The Republic ◽  
South African Police ◽  
High Crime ◽  
Excessive Use Of Force

Since 1994 the South African Police Service (SAPS) has undertaken various efforts to build legitimacy in South Africa. Extensive community policing resources have been made available, and a hybrid community-oriented programme (sector policing) has been pursued. Nevertheless, public opinion data has shown that there are low levels of public trust in the police. Using Goldsmith’s framework of trust-diminishing police behaviours, this article suggests that indifference, a lack of professionalism, incompetence and corruption on the part of the police, particularly in high-crime areas, have eroded public trust in the SAPS. Furthermore, in an effort to maintain order, reduce crime and assert the authority of the state, the police have adopted militaristic strategies and practices, which have contributed to numerous cases of excessive use of force, which has consequently weakened police legitimacy in South Africa

scholarly journals UNLAWFUL ARREST AND UNLAWFUL DETENTION: SEPARATE GROUNDS OF ACTION AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES Mvu v Minister of Safety and Security 2009 6 SA 82 (GSJ)

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Neethling ◽  
JM Potgieter
Keyword(s):  
Police Officer ◽  
South African ◽  
Punitive Damages ◽  
The South ◽  
Police Service ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Love Relationship ◽  
South African Police ◽  
A Charge

In Mvu v Minister of Safety and Security the plaintiff, an inspector in the South African Police Service was arrested without a warrant for malicious damage to property (his 15-year old daughters’ cellphones). It transpired that the plaintiff, while on police business in Gauteng, visited his daughters. He became enraged when he discovered that they had received cellphones by way of a “love relationship”, whereupon he took the cellphones and threw them to the ground, seriously damaging them. The daughters went to apolice station and laid a charge against the plaintiff for malicious damage to property. The police officer seized with the matter telephoned the plaintiff who immediately travelled to meet him. Upon arrival he arrested the plaintiff and imprisoned him overnight with six other men and set him free the following afternoon on warning. When the matter eventually came to court, the plaintiff was discharged at the end of the state’s case. 

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