ARRESTS WITHOUT WARRANT: THE SCA BRINGS CLARITY Minister of Safety and Security v Sekhoto 2011 1 SACR 315 (SCA); [2011] 2 All SA 157 (SCA)

Section 40(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 provides for a number of different instances where a peace officer may effect an arrest without an arrest warrant. A perusal of the reported case law pertaining to the lawfulness of arrests without warrant reveals that section 40(1)(b) of the Act, in particular, has received much attention from the courts. In terms of this subsection a peace officer may arrest without warrant any person whom he reasonably suspects of having committed an offence referred to in Schedule 1, other than the offence of escaping from lawful custody. It is settled law that any deprivation of freedom is regarded as prima facie unlawful. The arrestor therefore bears the onus of proving that the arrest was justified. The following jurisdictional facts must be present for a peace officer to rely on the defence created by section 40(1)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Act in cases, where it is alleged that the arrest was unlawful: (i) the arrestor must be a peace officer; (ii) the arrestor must entertain a suspicion; (iii) the suspicion must be that the suspect committed an offence in Schedule 1; and (iv) the suspicion must rest on reasonable grounds. For a discussion of the differenttypes of jurisdictional facts provided for in section 40(1) see Watney. In Louw v Minister of Safety and Security Bertelsman J held, with reference to the right to personal liberty, that arresting officers are under a constitutional obligation to consider whether there are no less invasive options to bring the suspect to court than the drastic measure of arrest, thereby effectively requiring a further jurisdictional fact for successful reliance by a peace officer on the provisions of section 40(1). If a reasonable apprehension exists that the suspect will abscond, or fail to appear in court if a warrant is first obtained for his or her arrest, or awritten notice or summons to appear in court is obtained, then the arrest would be constitutionally untenable and unlawful. Bertelsman J relied on academic opinion and an obiter remark made by De Vos J in Ralekwa v Minister of Safety and Security and held that the approach in Tsose v Minister of Justice that there is no rule that requires the milder method of bringing a person to court if it would be as effective as arrest, could no longer be acceptable in a constitutional dispensation. This approach was followed in a number of reported High Court judgments but not approved of in Charles v Minister of Safety and Security. In Minister of Safety and Security v Van Niekerk the Constitutional Court found it not to be in the interests of justice on the facts of the case before it to pronounce on the constitutional tenability of the approach in Tsose, but nevertheless held that the constitutionality of an arrest will be dependent upon its factual circumstances. Watney succinctly discusses some of the abovementioned developments. However, on 19 November 2010 the Supreme Court of Appeal in Minister of Safety and Security v Sekhoto (2011 1 SACR 315 (SCA), also reported in [2011] 2 All SA 157 (SCA)) held that the approach of the different high courts requiring a further jurisdictional fact for the lawfulness of an arrest did nothave proper regard for the principles in terms of which statutes must be interpreted in the light of the Bill of Rights and that they have conflated the issue of jurisdictional facts with the issue of discretion. This lucid judgment brings clarity to the issue of the lawfulness of arrests without warrant.

Examining Views of Police Chiefs and College Students Regarding Drug Disqualifiers for the Hiring of Police Officers in Arizona

Police applicant disqualification due to prior illegal drug use is a contributing factor to major recruitment and hiring challenges currently facing many American policing agencies. This article explores how chief executives of law enforcement agencies and college students enrolled in criminology courses in Arizona view current statewide police hiring standards related to prior drug use. We use surveys conducted in cooperation with the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board to examine respondent opinions regarding the preemployment use of marijuana and illicit use of prescription drugs. Generally, we find significant differences between the chief executive and student views. Students, who represent potential policing applicants, typically are in favor of harsher treatment of prior drug use than chief executives, although students are also more open to forgiving marijuana use under certain circumstances. We discuss the implications of these findings for police hiring and suggest potential areas of policy change.

Examining the Validity of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire in the Assessment of Police Candidates

A well-validated test of normal personality functioning is necessary in preemployment evaluations of candidates for public safety positions. In this study, we evaluated the construct validity and predictive validity of one such measure, the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), in a large sample of candidates for law enforcement positions. We examined associations between MPQ scale scores and biographical data, clinician suitability ratings on the 10 established California Commission on Peace Officer and Standards and Training (POST) psychological screening dimensions, and (for a subsample) posthire performance outcome data. MPQ scores generally demonstrated a conceptually expected pattern of associations with criterion variables, supporting their construct validity. Scores related to negative emotionality were particularly salient predictors of a range of POST-10 suitability ratings. Scales assessing aspects of positive emotionality, impulsivity, as well as absorption, emerged as the best predictors of posthire performance problems.

A Five-Factor Model Inventory for Use in Screening Police Officer Applicants

The Five Factor Model (FFM) is widely accepted as a valid descriptor of normal personality and commonly used as a framework for prediction of job performance. As an inventory that operationalizes the FFM, the NEO PI-R is often utilized in personnel selection. The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training has identified ten dimensions that increasingly serve as a template for the screening of police officer applicants. These screening dimensions are based on the FFM. The NEO PI-R thus appears well suited to serve as an inventory used for screening police officer applicants. A literature review is provided and strengths and weaknesses of the inventory discussed.

Law Enforcement Response To Human Trafficking According To Law No. 21/2007: Case Study in Benjina, Aru Archipelago Regency

Generally, there are some distinction on the response to human trafficking that has been particularly ruled in Law No.20/2007 21 about Abolition of Criminal Act Human Trafficking. That law contains legal basis to anticipate and round up activities, ways, or any other exploitations occured on human trafficking. In the process of implementation of criminal act case handling to human trafficking, the peace officer sometimes get difficulties to proof the perpetrator because sometimes it’s an organized crime, moreover it is a trans-national crime. The purpose of this study is to know and to analyze some aspects in law enforcement on human trafficking cases in Indonesia according to Law No. 21/2007 about Abolition of Criminal Act Human Trafficking (case study on human trafficking case in Benjina, Aru Archipelago Regency, and Maluku). So that this study can be a common comprehensive study to handle the human trafficking cases in Indonesia.

Organizational correlates of police deviance

PurposeMany examinations of police misconduct involve case study methodologies applied to a single agency, or a handful of agencies. Consequently, there is little evidence regarding the types of misconduct across agencies, or the impact of department-level characteristics on the nature and prevalence of officer deviance. The purpose of this paper is to address this research gap using statewide data of over 1,500 charges of police misconduct filed with the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (AZPOST) from 2000 to 2011.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines variation in the prevalence and forms of misconduct across 100+ agencies based on agency type and size. Difference scores were calculated for every agency in the state to determine whether an agency’s level of misconduct was proportionate to the number of officers employed by that agency. AZPOST data were supplemented with Law Enforcement Management and Statistics data to identify organizational correlates of misconduct in agencies generating disproportionately low and high levels of misconduct.FindingsResults identify variation in officer misconduct across different types of agencies. Tribal agencies generally experience higher rates of domestic violence and drug/alcohol-related incidents. Smaller agencies have more misconduct allegations involving supervisors. Organizational characteristics including pre-hiring screening, accountability mechanisms and community relationships are associated with lower levels of agency misconduct.Originality/valueThe use of AZPOST data enables a statewide examination of misconduct while accounting for organizational context. This study identifies organizational features that might serve to protect agencies against disproportionate rates of officer misbehavior.

Sworn Volunteers in American Policing, 1999 to 2013

This study describes changes in the use of sworn volunteers among the nation’s local law enforcement agencies and identifies those state-level certification, community, and agency characteristics associated with agencies using such volunteers in 2013. Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics data from 1999 through 2013 were analyzed to document trends in both the number of sworn volunteers and the prevalence of agencies using sworn volunteers. While there has been a modest decline in the use of sworn volunteers since 1999, in 2013, about 36% of all local law enforcement agencies used sworn volunteers; furthermore, these volunteers comprised 7% of all local sworn personnel having arrest authority nationwide in 2013. A survey of peace officer standards and training agencies found that approximately two thirds of states required state-level certification of sworn volunteers. Multivariate analyses of state-level certification standards, census data, and agency characteristics found that agencies were more likely to use sworn volunteers if they (a) are a sheriff's office, (b) serve jurisdictions with larger populations, (c) have greater levels of social disadvantage, (d) do not require recruits to have more than a high school education, or (e) are located within states offering graduated levels of sworn volunteer certifications. Agencies were less likely to use volunteer officers if they (a) hire part-time sworn officers, (b) have a greater entry-level salary, or (c) are accredited.

A Five-Factor Model Inventory for Use in Screening Police Officer Applicants

The Five Factor Model (FFM) is widely accepted as a valid descriptor of normal personality and commonly used as a framework for prediction of job performance. As an inventory that operationalizes the FFM, the NEO PI-R is often utilized in personnel selection. The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training has identified ten dimensions that increasingly serve as a template for the screening of police officer applicants. These screening dimensions are based on the FFM. The NEO PI-R thus appears well suited to serve as an inventory used for screening police officer applicants. A literature review is provided and strengths and weaknesses of the inventory discussed.