Acta Criminologica: Southern African Journal of Criminology - latest Issue

The impact of development on society cannot be denied, especially the movement (migration) of people from rural to urban areas. The United Nations estimate that currently 55 percent of the world’s population is living in urban areas and the figure may increase to 68 percent by the year 2050 (Anon., 2018a). The trend towards higher levels of urbanisation has resulted in many ‘ignoring’ or ‘forgetting’ about those living in rural areas and only think about the myth of a ‘rural idyll’ with a perception that crime is only committed in urban areas. Internationally, the neglect of the rural areas is emphasised within the fairly new study field of rural criminology which is the scholarly study of crime in rural localities among the rural people around the world (Donnermeyer, 2016: 1).

Crimes against agricultural operations around the world are both frequent and costly – financially, emotionally and socially. Yet, despite rural criminology’s emergence in the 21st century, the study of farm crime remains a relatively neglected area of inquiry. In part, this is due to the scattered nature of the literature. Journal articles and other publications about farm crime can be found in both criminological journals and a wide range of non-criminological sources, from scientific periodicals devoted to development, pastoralism and nomadic peoples, to publication outlets of agricultural colleges within the universities where scholars who have written about farm crime work. This article provides a synthesis of the literature, organised by four regions of the world where most of the known farm crime literature originates. The goal of this article is to provide a new generation of scholars with a single place where a large share of past research is discussed, and to build upon that base of knowledge to advance a future understanding of farm crime that informs alike academics, law enforcement and other criminal justice practitioners.

In this article, the nature and extent of crime on farms in Australia is described, highlighting those crimes that are most prevalent, and how these events and their social impact are uniquely defined by the Australian context. The information is drawn from a series of studies of farm crime in Australia conducted since 1999 by the author that include surveys and interviews with farmers, agricultural industry representatives, and rural police. Routine Activity Theory proved to be a useful framework to explain patterns of crime on Australian farms. However, the theory failed to account for the social, cultural and historical factors that shape the structure of community life and the idiosyncratic ‘ways of doing things’ in rural Australia. These social and cultural factors can influence the motivation for offending and the way victims and their community experience and respond to crime. The studies revealed that in some highly cohesive farming communities, to preserve the unity of the community, some types of crime were allowed to persist and the reporting of such crimes to police was proscribed. Many victims of crime suffered in silence. Some victims were judged by the community to be deserving of their victimisation. It is likely that social norms and cultural practices may also define the hidden nature of farm victimisation within rural communities in other nations.

The purpose of this article is to present the current challenges impeding policing of livestock theft in Kenya and suggest future ways to tackle it. Though, attempts have been made to address the problem of stock theft, it remains one of the persistent crimes in Kenya. Specifically, less has been done to critically analyse policing challenges accompanying prevention of livestock theft. By use of documentary reviews and in-depth analysis of policy documents – the article provides a critical understanding of the persistence of stock theft from an East African country. The article highlights how social-cultural, demographic, economic and technological development mutually reinforces each other to promote and impede policing of livestock theft in Kenya specifically. The article concludes by suggesting that there is need for more integrate approach to understanding of livestock theft which can inform development of practical and relevant interventions that can address changing dynamics of livestock theft in Kenya and Africa in general.

Historically, Fulani herdsmen are known for peaceful conduct of their herding as they move from one region to another in search of pasture for their livestock. The wanton killing of people by Fulani herdsmen in many communities in Nigeria has become a security concern in a country which has had a series of violent conflicts in the past two decades. The incessant clashes between herdsmen and agriculturalists (farmers) are due to the Fulani herding their cattle through farmlands for grazing, which destroys crops and deprives farmers of high productivity resulting in loss of wealth. Climatic changes in the areas where the majority of the herdsmen are domiciled have made it necessary to look elsewhere for grazing land for their livestock. There have been reported cases of rape, vandalisation of properties, assault, theft and murder committed by herdsmen. The resolve to resort to the use of firearms and weapons to deter the herdsmen in areas where they are not welcome has become a challenge for policy makers and security agencies. This study examines the triggers, trends and patterns and implications of armed Fulani herdsmen, the hostility of communities to herdsmen invasion, and state responses to the killings between herdsmen and the host communities.

Theft of livestock is increasingly threatening the South African farming community, endangering food security. An alarming occurrence is the ritualistic and sadistic ways in which some stock thieves kill livestock. Apart from major financial losses, these violent and cruel acts also pose a risk to rural safety and impact emotionally on livestock owners and their staff. This phenomenon is under-researched and no relevant research results are available on the topic. In this article, the methods used by ritualistic predators are probed and linked to possible personality traits of someone that is capable of displaying these levels of animal cruelty and violence. This profiling is hypothetical and based on a comparison of animal abuse and livestock mutilation, and violence perpetrated against humans. It is further postulated that these acts are perpetrated by individuals with antisocial personality and other antisocial disorders.

Evaluating the implementation of the Rural Safety Plan (RSP) in the Cacadu District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, was the focus of this study. The research was conducted in two criminal justice policing clusters, namely Graaff-Reinet and Grahamstown, because Grahamstown has the highest volume of crime and Graaff-Reinet the lowest. A qualitative explorative research design was implemented, and the data collected through one-on-one and focus group interviews. Thirty South African Police Service (SAPS) participants, including 12 station commanders, 12 visible policing commanders and six Rural Safety co-ordinators were interviewed. Six farmers’ associations and six residents’ association focus groups from Graaff-Reinet and the Grahamstown clusters participated in the research study. The farmers’ and residents’ associations were made up of six to ten participants per focus group interview. Non-probability sampling in the form of purposive sampling was used to select the participants. This study, according to the SAPS participants, revealed that the Rural Safety Plan, in those areas, was not properly implemented as it, together with sector policing, was not adequately explained to the rural communities with little interaction between the SAPS and the communities in the Graaff-Reinet/Grahamstown clusters. The suggested recommendations include increased accountability by SAPS participants to the Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner’s office and to the Cacadu rural communities through accountability meetings, consultation with the Cacadu communities, as well as improved co-operation between the police and the communities. Furthermore, a needs analysis must be conducted, which should preferably include human and physical resources connected to the Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner’s office.

Stocktheft, as a rural crime, has over the years either been under researched or not been researched in any depth by academics, researchers and scholars in the field of Criminology and Criminal Justice. This lack of criminological attention is despite the fact that, within the livestock farming sector, stocktheft has the biggest economic impact of all rural crime. Relevant stakeholders across the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province in South Africa have attempted to initiate various co-operative strategies in a bid to address livestock theft, which remains at one of the highest levels in South Africa. Instituting co-operative strategies in this province has proved to a difficult obstacle to overcome. This article presents selected findings from studies and publications on policing of stocktheft. The findings of this study enabled the researchers to recommend that effective collaboration structures between all relevant stakeholders in the policing of stocktheft in KwaZulu-Natal Province should be incorporated into anti-stocktheft operations by means of the development of a set of good practices guidelines – all to assist in solving the problems relating to this form of rural crime. Reference in the article is also made to the use of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) technology as an aid to traditional methods of combating the direct impact of stocktheft on livestock farmers in the formal and informal rural economies. The utilising of DNA technology assists anti-livestock theft efforts by providing considerable evidence resulting from physical matching, soil analyses and manure samples. DNA technology, therefore, enables commercial and emerging subsistence livestock farmers, as well as other interested stakeholders, to more effectively combat this crime by obtaining successful prosecutions in court.

Different technologies can be adopted in combating stock theft, and these strategies are becoming increasingly valuable to the operationalisation of the South African Criminal Justice System (CJS). However, the value of using technology in combating stock theft is vague to most livestock farmers. Instead, they revert to conventional methods, such as brand-marking and tattooing. These conventional techniques have not really proffered an enduring solution to the menace of stock-theft in South Africa. From a qualitative standpoint, this article provides academic discourse on robust conventional and technological techniques to be adopted as durable solutions to this age-long phenomenon (stock theft) in selected areas of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province. Information is also drawn from existing legislative frameworks on stock theft in the country, including the Stock Theft Act (No. 57 of 1959) and Animal Identification Act (No. 6 of 2002). Primary findings indicate that the value of using the available methods (conventional and technological) in combating stock theft by selected stakeholders is not clear to most participants. This article suggests that an integration of conventional methods and various technologies in combating this scourge will provide a significant contribution to ensuring the safety and protection of livestock in South African communities, KwaZulu-Natal included.

The impact of conservation crime on rural economies has, over the last two decades, grown increasingly negative. Conservation crime in all forms has pushed several animal species into the endangered category, with some onto the ‘nearing extinction’ or ‘extinct’ appendices of CITES. The negative impact of poaching and trafficking in wildlife has wider ramifications, not only as a whole on rural communities per se, but also touches on the growth of game park tourism and on the hospitality industry. As a result, it has a ripple effect on other aspects of rural life, inter alia, the sustainability and viability of game farming. In this context it refers to costs to park/reserve owners of securing (policing) and protecting the wildlife encompassed in protected areas. This article is an exploratory examination of the economic impact and other costs of combatting rhino poaching in South Africa – currently home to 75 percent of the remaining world rhino populations. The rising numbers of rhino being poached in South Africa (from a mere 83 in 2008 rising five years later to 688 in 2012 and breaking the 1 000 mark in 2013) – the majority in the Kruger National Park, but also on other state parks/reserves, as well as private game farms – has begun to endanger the economic wellbeing of certain national parks, private game reserves, and that of commercial rhino ranchers, in addition to impacting negatively on tourism. In an effort to combat the rising number of rhinos being poached, both the government, SANPArks and private game farm owners have been forced to invest heavily in additional armed game guards, surveillance and tracking equipment, improved security fencing and allied costs. The continued high levels of rhino killing also bring into question the future sustainability of stocking parks and game farms with rhino. Other costs have been linked to the dehorning of adult rhinos; the development of rhino forensic investigation methods and the collection of evidence and DNA samples from all rhino poaching crime scenes by a special unit of the South African Police Service. Allied costs being the deployment of South African Defence Force (SANDF) anti-poaching ranger and support units to the Kruger National Park. The upshot is that this poaching phenomenon is, in addition to its conservation impact, furtively coming to represent the nadir of rural economies and must as such be addressed as a matter of urgency before its fiscal ramifications become more manifest.

On 5 April 2017, the South African Constitutional Court ruled in favour of legalising the domestic trade in rhinoceros horn. The significant poaching crisis currently being experienced in South Africa has caused great concern as rhino and elephant populations move closer to the edge of extinction. The decision by the Constitutional Court, and the ensuing Draft Regulations, have been both celebrated and criticised by individuals from all sectors of society. Those who support the legalisation of the rhino horn trade are in favour of the potential positive outcomes of trade, such as reduced poaching, increased funding and positive financial incentives for private rhino owners. The anti-trade movement argues that inadequate regulations, widespread corruption and insufficient law enforcement capacity will hinder the success of a legalised trade in rhino horn. Multiple aspects of both the pro-trade and anti-trade arguments will be discussed in this article, specifically in relation to the Draft Regulations that govern the domestic trade in rhino horn and the envisioned outcomes of the legalisation of the domestic trade in rhino horn. Although a financially beneficial sustainable trade would be the ideal outcome of legalised trade, lifting the National Moratorium and allowing a full legal trade in rhino horn without adequate enforcement is sure to prove disastrous for the rhino population.