Acta Criminologica: Southern African Journal of Criminology - Special Edition 4, January 2015

Given the important challenge of researching and debating effective policies to respond to issues of citizen safety in our society, it needs to be emphasised that researching crime, criminal justice, victims and perpetrators, as well as institutional responses, remains an important area of criminological and criminal justice study. Our overall objective, as a community of researchers and academics in South Africa, must be to produce a set of graduates willing and able to engage with the complex challenges that they will face in government, business or indeed working in academia or as researchers themselves. We need analysis, publications and debate therefore that focus, not only on policy but also on understanding and explaining the nature of our society. Too often we look elsewhere for quick fixes (often to the so-called 'North'), without engaging effectively with understanding the complex historical drivers of crime in South Africa. Given this, it was thought it might be appropriate in this article, stemming partly from an absence from South Africa for many years, to look at the country from the outside in. To try to assess what bigger changes in the global criminal economy and associated politics may mean for us in South Africa. That is partly in response to having worked for many years on United Nations (UN) and other bilateral programmes targeting a variety of illicit flows and the development of criminal networks in different countries. Perhaps one of the starkest conclusions to be drawn from that experience is that there has in fact been very little success in these endeavours. It is this question and its implications that will be explored, with reference to South Africa, in this article and, hopefully, will point to new approaches to research and widening the scope of what we might consider from a policy perspective.

The public sector delivers essential services to the well-being and development of the nation. To ensure that public service delivery is as efficient and economical as possible, Government institutions are required to formulate strategic plans, allocate resources to the implementation of those plans, and monitor and report on the results. Integrated strategic planning, budgeting and monitoring of service delivery performance coupled with effective financial advice, strengthens the link between the service that the departments provide and the benefits and costs of those services. This article provides an overview of the strategic objectives and priorities of the Criminal Justice Departments (CJS), as displayed in their five-year strategic plans (2014-2019). Strategic objectives and priorities have been developed for each of these departments' main service delivery areas and are aligned to its budget programmes. These strategic priorities direct budget and resource allocation to meet the needs of the CJS departments as far as possible. This has an impact on their organisational structure, financial and performance management systems and institutional management. The author believes that criminologists should take cognisance of these priorities for purposes of: academic involvement in realising these objectives and priorities; obtaining funds for research projects (donor countries); and focused partnerships between universities/NGOs/private entities and government departments.

Two key values of the SAPS are to provide a responsible, effective and high-quality service with honesty and integrity; and to evaluate their service continuously and make every effort to improve it. Against this background, the aim of the study was to understand the clients' perception of the service delivery of the SAPS in three communities: Umhlanga Rocks (a historically middle-class suburb) and Greenwood Park and Chatsworth (historically working-class communities) in the EThekwini Municipality. Findings revealed, across all the categories, that the Greenwood Park sample consistently rated their perceptions of CSC services higher than the other two areas, followed by Umhlanga Rocks (an upper-middle-class area) and Chatsworth (historically working class). Overall there was a clear trend in responses, namely: respondents in the Greenwood Park region were relatively satisfied with their Police services, followed by the respondents from Umhlanga Rocks who held relatively neutral views. The Chatsworth region showed an overall trend of dissatisfaction on almost all elements - for 'tangibles', 'responsiveness', 'reliability', 'assurance' and 'empathy' with a. mean below 3 (the neutral point) for almost all of these variables. The study findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future research.

Criminological profiling and assessments of offenders have proved to be a valuable tool in the prediction and rehabilitation of criminal behaviour. However, such assessments have mostly been applied to violent types of crimes. Although economic crimes such as theft and fraud have not been neglected, the value and application of criminological profiling and the assessment of offenders who perpetrated the crime of livestock theft has not been fully explored. This article focuses on three case studies drawn from court case records and other-related literature of individuals who have been found guilty of livestock theft. The aim is to explore, describe and examine these case studies from a criminological perspective following an in-depth qualitative case study analysis. This analysis shows that livestock theft in particular is not a typical crime committed out of a need for immediate gratification of hunger (or so-called 'potslagting' [slaughtering for the pot]), but a crime that is committed by individuals who come from different socio-economic backgrounds, who have diverse social standings in society and who commit this type of crime for various reasons. The data includes a discussion on the motives, causes and contributory factors linked to the crime of livestock theft. Furthermore, the need to implement an Africanised approach to explain crime from a criminological point of view is briefly debated with particular reference to the explanation of livestock theft. Livestock are seen, not only as a commodity, but also as something that has cultural significance. Therefore, the contributory value of the application of criminological profiling and offender assessments towards the prevention and policing of livestock theft should not be overlooked.

The reality of rape as a direct form of contact crime remains deeply entrenched in South African communities, despite numerous efforts from various governmental stakeholders to curb this heinous crime. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act (32 of 2007), came into effect in 2007 as a strategic approach to prevent secondary victimisation of a victim of sexual offence through the Criminal Justice System (CJS). One of the strategies employed in the aforementioned Act, is the compulsory Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing of alleged sex offenders. The compulsory HIV testing of an alleged sex offender evoked controversy pertaining to its efficiency and the human rights violations that might be incurred upon the alleged accused. This article will highlight the subjective perceptions of adult female rape survivors towards their rights and the rights of alleged sex offenders following rape. The research was conducted at four Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs) in the Gauteng province, which are one stop multi-disciplinary state-owned facilities providing medico-legal services for victims of sexual offences in South Africa. The study was exploratory- descriptive in nature within a positivistic paradigm. Quantitative research methods were employed, with the aid of a self-administered questionnaire as a measuring instrument given to adult female rape survivors to complete. Forty-five research respondents participated in the study. This article thus serves as one of two domains under investigation relating to the current study.

This article is motivated by an increase in intra-familial murders and the fact that intra-familial murder within the Indian community has not received much scholarly attention in South Africa compared to sensational journalism. The author notes a gap in the literature on why intra-familial murders are committed within the South African Indian community. The purpose of this study is to analyse the incidents of intra-familial murders committed by people of Indian origin in South Africa, so that motives for the killings may be determined and appropriate social interventions could be found. A focus on the motivating factors is crucial in finding appropriate social interventions to reduce this type of murders in the South African Indian community. The author has, qualitatively, using the case study design obtained data and the views of psychologists and social workers from the media on intra-familial murders in the Indian community. In addition, purposive interviews with criminal investigators and social workers were conducted on the investigation process followed in cases of this nature. All the collected data was descriptively analysed by identifying and categorising the data into themes, categories and storylines. This allowed for an in-depth, open (transparent) and detailed study of categories of information as they emerged from the data. It became clear from the cases reported in the media and the purposive interviews with investigators and social workers that the motives for intra-familial murders within the Indian community include jealousy, greed, revenge, spontaneous aggression and abnormality of mind, arising from existential circumstances such as poor socio-economic conditions, anger and provocation, mental illness, as well as dysfunctional romantic and marital relationships.

During the course of history, human beings have sought to protect and secure themselves against all types of threats to their well-being and their property. In light of technological advances, the concept of property has evolved to include not only tangible assets such as land or possessions but also intangible belongings such as ideas, artistic works or information. Social engineering involves the targeting of people through deception and manipulation with the purpose of two main outcomes - direct loss of critical information and the achievement of some action intended by the attacker. As a countermeasure, it can be assumed that stricter technical controls should be a viable solution to social engineering. However, stricter technical controls cannot effectively deal with the issues surrounding human beings, their inherent nature and security. The impact of social engineering attacks vary widely according to the nature of the attack. Big corporations, private industries, businesses, government agencies, as well as individuals are at risk to Information Security breaches. Furthermore, many of these cyber-attacks, data breaches and stolen information are carried out for criminal purpose. This article examines the problem of social engineering by contextualising the modern information security and cybercrime culture, identifying harmful and illicit threats and attacks, as well as evaluating the potential impact and consequences of such attacks.

The national security and territorial integrity of a state, (country) especially in maintaining its sovereignty, is determined inter alia by the level of border security and control measures. It was against this backdrop that the objective of this study investigated the current multi-departmental policy approach adopted by South Africa on border security and control. The study was also interested on the effectiveness of the policy approach and challenges experienced by the South African Police Service and other agencies. Although the concepts border security and border control are at times used interchangeably, there are fundamental differences between the two concepts. Border security includes measures in safeguarding a state's land, air and water domains, detecting threats along these borders and securing all points of entry - locations such as border crossings, airports and seaports where officials are stationed to oversee the legal entry and exit of persons and goods (Nelson, et al, 2010: 2). Border security is proactive and protective in approach, in the sense that it attempts to prevent or detect threats before happening. Border security measures relate to those measures such as the ability of border agencies to prevent or detect border threats such as illegal smuggling of illicit drugs, trafficking in persons, terrorism, illegal smuggling of firearms or weapons. Border control on the other hand, refers to activities that are primarily concerned with those aspects that deal with the general application of legal and regulatory measures that apply to the control of the international movement of persons and goods (South African Police Service, 2007). Border control is more administrative, since it relates to ensuring compliance to legal and regulatory prescripts that regulate movement of persons and goods across borders. Such administrative measures relate to migration, import, export and environmental regulatory framework among others. The study focused on three dependent variables. Firstly, the border security approach that was captured by asking respondents to determine qualitatively and quantitatively the border security approach adopted by South Africa for border management. Secondly, the effectiveness of the border security approach measured by the perceived ability of South African Police Service and other border agencies in delivering their mandate. Thirdly, identifying the challenges to the effective implementation of the border security approach. This was based on four identified indicators around which research respondents were asked to respond. The indicators included the adequacy of institutional approach, co-ordination and co-operation, ability to identify various cross-border crimes and the challenges. The focal borders include the Ramatlabama, Ficksburg and Mananga border posts and their borderline areas. A mixed-methods approach in the form of a survey and interviews was used in answering the research questions raised by this study. This was used to solicit the views of border police officials and key informants on the current approach to border security and control, its effectiveness and the challenges facing the South African Police Service and other border security agencies. The key findings indicate that the current multi-departmental approach in its current form is not effective. It creates duplication, since co-ordination and co-operation among border stakeholders is voluntary and lacks a regulatory framework. Police officials at the three land borders revealed a great inability to identify various cross-border related crimes. Equipment and infrastructure, training and human capital are some of key administrative challenges at the three selected land borders. This study raised a number of issues that are of criminological, policing and security importance in South Africa. Based on the findings, this study recommends a comprehensive and viable border security management policy and practice informed by national security interest.

This article focuses on the quantitative and qualitative findings of an investigation into the need for a scientifically accountable National Road Traffic Safety Databank (NRTSD) in South Africa. The specific objectives of the investigation were: To assess the characteristics of data and data-gathering systems on road traffic crashes in South Africa; needs in this respect and in particular a need for establishing a NRTSD;, as well as the contribution large independent structure, such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) could make, if any, towards establishing adequate road traffic safety database in South Africa. The study assumed that road traffic crashes were preventable and took a systems perspective of road traffic safety. It used a mixed methods research design. The findings underlined that road traffic safety were hampered by a deficient database and data-gathering processes in South Africa; and that South African road traffic safety agencies were agreeable to rectifying the deficiencies by gathering and integrating verified road traffic safety data into a comprehensive databank, and using an independent organisation such as the CSIR to do so.

The study upon which this article is based sought to investigate the possibility of using criminal career research to inform policy development and/or evaluation with regards to the prevention of armed robberies, particularly those against the banking industry. Forty offenders who committed robbery with aggravating circumstances (i.e. branch robberies, after hours robberies, Cash-in-Transit (CIT) robberies and Automated Teller Machine (ATM) bombings/attacks with explosives were interviewed at eight correctional centres around the Gauteng province of South Africa (SA). One of the aspects covered during the qualitative interviews of the research was the influence mysticism or belief in supernatural had on the armed robber's criminal career. Out of the 40 participants 35 (87.5%) expressed that it is vital to consult a Sangoma before executing an armed robbery because the Sangoma is clairvoyant and can therefore predict if the robbery will be successful or not. Also, these offenders strongly believe that the muti the Sangoma prescribes plays a significant role in the robbery process in that, once it is applied, it makes one brave, powerful, invisible, wild or can protect one from being shot or arrested for example. Although inconspicuous in their responses, respondents also divulged some information about the ingredients placed in the muti. The main reason provided for the discreetness in divulging information on the content of the muti was that Sangomas do not open up on what they put in their concoctions. To note is the fact that there was during this research an atypical case where one respondent reported the use of a human body part (a penis) as one of the ingredients used. As a result, this article will also briefly expound on the issue of muti murder. The law regulating traditional health practices is also concisely consulted.

'Ukuthwala' is a complex and controversial custom that is lately scrutinised by various sectors of society. While the custom is frequently practiced and defended by those doing so, the eventual conviction of Mr Nvumeleni Jezile for human trafficking and rape by the Western Division of the High Court, provides a clear customary and legal framework within which the custom of 'ukuthwala' should be evaluated. It has become apparent that the custom is regularly conducted in an aberrant form, associated with violence, child trafficking, rape and other criminal behaviour under the guise of 'ukuthwala'. Based on the facts of this case, the court determined that sufficient legal authority exists "that child trafficking and any form of child abuse or exploitation for sexual purposes, is not to be tolerated in our constitutional dispensation".

For centuries dogs have provided humans with companionship, assisted humans to hunt for food and provided protection for them. They have been used by law enforcement agencies for over 100 years and the use of dogs in warfare dates as far back as 700 BC. With the increase in private security companies over the years, dogs are no longer only used by police and military agencies, but are also used in the private sector as a security measure. Despite the new technological advances, dogs are still seen as the most successful and efficient detector due to their exceptional olfactory function, their portability and the fact that they can search and cover large areas. However, the success of these dogs in any form of crime prevention relies solely on the effectiveness and quality of training received and their handlers. There are a large variety of ways in which dogs can be used in crime prevention. This article is based on a preliminary literature study and provides an overview of the utilisation of dogs as security measures to protect and detect in a variety of situations and working conditions. It will also examine the various categories for canine functions, the suitability of the various breeds of dogs, and the dog handlers.