scholarly journals South African Police Services Officials` Perceptions of Community-Police Relations in Durban, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 224-230
Author(s):  
Siyanda Dlamini ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Crime Prevention ◽  
South African ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Community Policing ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Police Services ◽  
Prevention Activities ◽  
South African Police

Police officers’ views about police-citizen relationships are shaped not only by opportunities to interact with community residents during normal police work but also in part by efforts due to the larger police mission of encouraging and supporting such attitudes. In recent years, police in different countries has shifted from the traditional reactive form of policing towards community-oriented approaches. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to explore police officers’ views of citizen-police relationships and community policing in Durban, South Africa. A qualitative research approach was adopted, to explore such perceptions in the study area. The findings collected through semi-structured interviews with the South African Police Services personnel suggested that police officer were dissatisfied and at best ambiguous about citizens’ participation in crime prevention activities or support for the police in a township dwelling. However, in a suburban area, the perceptions marked an improvement in their attitudes on various dimensions. These include officers’ views about the overall police mission, increased emphasis on service-oriented policing in contrast to a law enforcement approach, support for community policing, perceived citizens’ willingness to cooperate with the police in crime prevention activities, and decreased cynicism about citizens. These findings suggest confidence in the utility of community policing ideas.

scholarly journals The implementation and impact of crime prevention / crime control open street Closed-Circuit Television surveillance in South African Central Business Districts

2002 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Minnaar
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Crime Prevention ◽  
South African ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
Street Crime ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Central Business Districts ◽  
Cctv Surveillance ◽  
South African Police

The use and implementation of public open street Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance systems in Central Business Districts (CBDs) in South Africa solely for the purpose of crime control (reducing street crime) or crime prevention (deterrence) has in South Africa been a relatively new intervention within the broader context of crime prevention programmes. One of the drawbacks to its implementation for this purpose has been its costs and the inability of the South African Police Service to fund such implementation in the light of other more pressing priorities and demands on its finances and resources. However, the initiative to start implementing and linking CCTV surveillance systems in CBDs in the major metropolitan cities of South Africa to local police services was taken in the mid-1990s by Business Against Crime of South Africa (BACSA). This article, using case study overviews from four South African CBD areas (Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria (Tshwane) and Durban), traces CCTV use as crime control or prevention surveillance, how they were implemented, the rationale behind their implementation and the operationalising of them in terms of preventing street crime and its uses in other surveillance. In addition it also looks at this initiative from the perspective of the growth and commercialisation of the management of these services, and the co-operation and co-ordination structures in partnership with the South African Police Service (SAPS). Furthermore, it reviews the purported impact on the reduction of crime of these systems in CBDs and finally the application of public crime surveillance by the CCTV control room operators (private security) in co-operation with the police (response team) and the role it plays in the observation, recording, arrest and conviction of suspects.

scholarly journals Addressing Xenophobia in the Equality Courts of South Africa

Refuge ◽  
2013 ◽  
pp. 107-116
Author(s):  
Justin De Jager
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Police Services ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
Fundamental Value ◽  
South African Police ◽  
The Right ◽  
University Of Cape Town ◽  
The University

South African society bears a legacy of inequality and struggle against oppression. In the Constitutional era, our courts have held that the right to equality is a core fundamental value against which all law and state practice must be tested. South Africa’s Equality Courts have been heralded as a transformative mechanism for the redressing of systemic inequality and the promotion of the right to equality. Following the aftermath of the 2008 xenophobic attacks in South Africa, the University of Cape Town Refugee Law Clinic, on behalf of some of the victims of these attacks, launched equality claims against the South African Police Services in order to address the unfair discrimination and xenophobia of police officials in protecting these victims. This paper reviews the two matters launched by the Clinic in the Equality Courts, examining the challenges that effectively reduce the accessibility of the Equality Courts and the difficulty inherent in proving discrimination in equality claims, and commenting on the benefits of using these courts to address xenophobia.

scholarly journals When Torture Mocks the Law: Understanding Police Brutality in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 231-243
Author(s):  
Philisiwe Hadebe ◽  
◽  
Nirmala Gopal
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Water Deprivation ◽  
Police Brutality ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Police Violence ◽  
Degrading Treatment

South Africa promulgated the Prevention and Combating of Torture of Persons Act No. 13 of 2013, which criminalises the use of torture by law enforcers. The Act also criminalises cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment of citizens by law enforcers. However, the implementation of this law is derisory as the torture and physical abuse of civilians by the police reportedly continue unabated. This phenomenon seems part of police culture that is entrenched in South African policing practices. Prior to the study, the literature review underscored the unabated prevalence of police violence. Against this background, this article seeks to highlight specific incidences of police officers’ use of unconstitutional and abusive acts of torture involving civilians. Using a qualitative research approach, ten officers of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) were interviewed to generate the required data. Thematic analysis was used and the findings revealed that civilians suspected of criminal behaviour were often exposed to inhumane forms of torture, which ranged from food and water deprivation to being strangled, suffocated, and electrocuted. These forms of torture involving suspects were reportedly prompted by the urgency for eliciting information, ‘proving’ the presumption of guilt, proactively preventing crime in communities, and coercing suspect compliance. The findings thus urge the need for a blanket ban on the torture of suspects, the effective investigation by the IPID of cases of torture, and the successful trial and conviction of police perpetrators of this crime.

scholarly journals Perspectives on Stock Theft Prevention in the Selected Provinces of South Africa: Failures and Successes

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1029-1038
Author(s):  
Witness Maluleke ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Preventative Measures ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
South African Police ◽  
Data Collections ◽  
The Relationship

Residents of Limpopo (LIM) and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province are witnessing higher rates of stock theft, with the inhabitants of the selected communities living in fear for the prevention of this scourge. This study explores the extent of this crime in the selected areas of LIM and KZN, considering contributory factors, determining the relationship between the South African Police Service Stock Theft Units (SAPS STUs) and other relevant stakeholders, as well as looking at existing strategies (And their failures and successes) in responding to this crime effectively. A qualitative research approach coupled with Non-probability: Purposive sampling was used in this study. The targeted population consisted of 113 participants. For data collections, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and Observation Schedules were adopted. lack of appropriate preventative measures has led to rise of stock theft, it was, therefore, discovered that both the affected livestock farmers and members of the community lost confidence toward the police, Besides, the perspectives on stock theft prevention in LIM and KZN reflect a greater challenge, with inadequate solutions present, since the current preventative measures are ineffective. Thus, understanding stock theft phenomenon is critical to its prevention as the sector of livestock in South Africa is the contributory key to the value of the agricultural economy.

scholarly journals Book Review: The Spirit of Marikana: The Rise of Insurgent Trade Unionism in South Africa by Luke Sinwell with Siphiwe Mbatha

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Broster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Working Class ◽  
South African ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Economic Freedom ◽  
The Past ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
History Of ◽  
South African Police

Despite its title, this book does not look exclusively at the massacre that occurred at Marikana on 16 August 2012, when South African police officers shot and killed 34 striking mineworkers and wounded 78 others. Rather, it places that event in the context of a longer, larger struggle for dignity and economic freedom by the working class in South Africa. The authors did not do this to trivialise this significant event but to implore the reader to recognise that it was one moment, one particular incident in a long history of struggle and conflict, one that is not necessarily more important than another. As such, it pursues what George Lipsitz has called the ‘long fetch’, looking into the past and identifying the forces that slowly shaped what may otherwise appear to have been sudden and inexplicable.1 The book does this by attempting to describe the tensions between the various ‘ordinary’ individuals – the striking employees of Lonmin’s platinum mine at Marikana – and their relationships to the labour collectives they started, helped lead, or held to account. It attempts to show how understanding these tensions is crucial to understanding the events that occurred at Marikana, and understanding South Africa as an economic project.

Police integrity in South Africa: a tale of three police agency types

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanja Kutnjak Ivković ◽  
Adri Sauerman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Agency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sample Group ◽  
Police Service ◽  
South African Police ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Police Integrity

Purpose – Following the theory of police integrity, the purpose of this paper is to explore empirically the contours of police integrity in South Africa using survey of the three South African police agency types. Design/methodology/approach – During the period from 2010 to 2012, a police integrity survey was used to measure the contours of police integrity among 871 police officers across South Africa, covering all three police agency types. The questionnaire contains descriptions of 11 scenarios, covering different forms of police misconduct, followed by seven questions measuring officer views of scenario seriousness, the appropriate and expected discipline, and willingness to report the misconduct. Findings – The results show that the respondents from the three police agency types were about equally likely to recognize behaviors as rule-violating and, in most scenarios, evaluated these scenarios to be of the same level of seriousness. The contours of the code of silence were very similar as well. The authors found the largest and most systematic differences in the respondents’ perceptions of disciplinary environment, with the traffic respondents expecting harsher disciplinary environments than either the South African Police Service or metro police respondents. Research limitations/implications – Similar sample group sizes would have been preferred, although the current sample group proportions are certainly representative of a collective, agency size comparison. Practical implications – Although the respondents from the three police agency types expressed similar views of misconduct seriousness and their willingness to report, and were as likely to recognize these behaviors as rule-violating, their views depicted markedly different disciplinary environments. These results clearly support the critical importance of consistent enforcement of official rules. Originality/value – Whereas several integrity studies have explored the country’s national police service, empirical studies on the integrity of the other South African police agency types are non-existent.

scholarly journals WRONGFUL ARREST: A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE IMPACT OF THE CONSTITUTION IN RECENT CASE LAW

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Scott
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Services ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Maximum Period ◽  
Police Official ◽  
Standard Practices ◽  
South African Police ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
The Impact

In recent times there has been a proliferation of press reports about ordinary, law-abiding citizens who suffered the indignity and inconvenience of a wrongful (unlawful) arrest at the hands of officers of the South African Police Service or Metro Police Services. According to the most recent of these reports, this increase in the incidence of wrongful arrests have even resulted in deliberations between members of the Law Society of the Northern Provinces and the top management of the SAPS, in which the latter undertook to pay special attention to the training of police officers in order to better the present state of affairs. It is not far-fetched to describe thepresent situation on the ground in respect of wrongful arrests as epidemic. In recent interviews with attorneys who have been representing clients in wrongful arrest claims against the Minister of Safety and Security, the present writer was told about certain standard practices regarding arrests: it would seem that it is a favourite practice among certain police officials to arrest suspects on a Friday, or even a Thursday afternoon, in order to prolong the normal 48-hour maximum period of detention before bringing an arrestee before court. Furthermore, metro police spokespersons often announce, at the beginning of some road-safety drive or crack-down on traffic offenders, that certain types of offenders will, without exception, be arrested. The worst recent example recounted to the author of lamentable conduct in this context on the part of a high-ranking police official concerns an order issued on a Friday afternoon in which the officers under his command were ordered to endeavour arresting more persons of a specific ethnic group, seeing that the weekend population of the police cells under his command did not reflect the demographics of his jurisdiction!

scholarly journals Evaluating the Nature and Extent of Burglary at Residential Premises in Namakgale Policing Area, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1367-1377
Author(s):  
M. Mundlovu ◽  
D. Khosa ◽  
E. Zenzile ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Influence Strategies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Members ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Phenomenological Research Design ◽  
South African Police

The main objective of this paper was to explore the nature and extent of burglary at residential grounds in the Namakgale policing area, after realisation of higher manifestations and uncontrollable nature of this crime. This paper utilised a qualitative research approach, supported by the phenomenological research design. Altogether, 30 participants were purposively selected from diverse target groups, which consists of the South African Police Service Detectives, uniform police officers, Community Policing Forum (CPF) members and managers, Community Leaders and Faith-based organisation leaders, and local community members. The objectives of the paper were realised by the use of one-on-one semi-structured interviews for data collection, and thematic analysis, in order to analyse the gathered data. Research findings of this paper revealed that the current strategies of traditional policing, such as a) foot patrolling offered by the selected stakeholders, and b) the vehicle patrolling rendered by the local SAPS members, are deemed to be ineffective. There is an increase in the number of burglaries at residential premises at Namakgale policing area, and the reported cases tend to be often unsolved. There are constant complaints made by community members about burglary in their premises. It is also established that security systems can play an essential role in deterring the commission of this crime and the failing trust within the community members and the local SAPS should be rebuilding. This empirical research paper recommends that Namakgale community, local SAPS and other relevant stakeholders should clearly understand the Modus Operandi (MO) used in the commission of this ordeal crime. The understanding of the MO would serve as a detail-rich information and subsequently influence strategies, on how to effectively respond to this crime.

scholarly journals SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE CAPACITY TO RESPOND TO CYBERCRIME: CHALLENGES AND POTENTIALS

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 165-186
Author(s):  
Mmabatho Aphane ◽  
Jacob Mofokeng
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Police Service ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
Relevant Role ◽  
Criminal Procedure Law ◽  
South African Police

The growing threat of cybercrime poses significant challenges for police organizations. Due to the sophisticated methods used to commit cybercrime, the implementation and investigation of cybercrime have become more demanding and time-consuming. For the police to successfully investigate and punish acts of crime, it is necessary to know and understand the operations of the perpetrators. A qualitative research approach utilizing purposive sampling was adopted to explore the capacity of policing cybercrime in the study area. The findings collected through semi-structured interviews with eight key informants comprising of South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Intelligence Unit officials suggest that there is a limited cybercrime investigative expertise within the specialized investigation units, coupled with the cyber-elements that are part of almost every traditional crime investigation today, has caused a significant increase in the workload of cybercrime investigative units. The study also found a lack of corporation amongst relevant role-players to boost internal cybercrime investigative resources, resulting in capacity challenges in keeping up with the workload. In addition, as the study showed, the lack of a clear legal framework makes it difficult to investigate and prosecute crimes committed with the Internet, as the authorities are forced to rely on the Criminal Procedure Law. The recommendations are presented as a potential step to developing educational packages and awareness programs to provide at-risk groups with effective mechanisms to protect themselves from cybercrime.

scholarly journals Die evaluering van 'n opleidingsprogram ten opsigte van interpersoonlike doeltreffendheid

1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-389
Author(s):  
L. I. Jorgensen ◽  
S. Rothmann
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Community Policing ◽  
Interpersonal Skills ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Interpersonal Contact ◽  
Group Design ◽  
South African Police Service ◽  
South African Police ◽  
Organisational Factors

The South African Police Service (SAPS) is increasingly moving towards community policing. This movement makes great demands on the interpersonal efficiency of police officers and their trainers. It seems, however, that trainers in the SAPS seldom have sufficient knowledge and/or skills to manage interpersonal contact effectively. A two-group design was used to evaluate a training programme regarding interpersonal efficiency for instructors within the SAPS Training College. It transpired that interpersonal skills improved significantly after completion of the training programme. As far as qualitative impressions are concerned, it was found that certain organisational factors might inhibit the development of interpersonal efficiency of trainers.

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