Acta Criminologica: Southern African Journal of Criminology - latest Issue

In the past ten years, the use of low-grade heroin (known as whoonga or nyaope) by people from marginalised communities in Durban, South Africa has become increasingly prevalent. Focus groups held with young homeless people who use whoonga have shown definitive rationality in their choice to use drugs, as well as high levels of a sensibility in terms of what is required to make daily living less risky. The more time we spent on the streets speaking to whoonga users, the more we became aware of the absolute need for opioid substitution therapy (OST) to be publicly available as a maintenance medication and therapy, which is currently used in South Africa in any significant way. The Urban Futures Centre at the Durban University of Technology, together with the TB/HIV Care Association, is embarking on the first non-profit OST Demonstration Project in the country as a means of advocating for the wider roll out of OST in public facilities. This agonist-based OST Demonstration Project is low threshold and is not necessarily aimed at abstinence, but rather toward the improvement of the quality of life for and the reduction of harm to users, particularly as it pertains to health and safety. This article speaks to the pathways, as described by people who use drugs themselves, into heroin use and present the initial findings regarding changes in quality of life from service users who are a part of the OST Demonstration Project. In so doing we make the case for the centrality of connections and rights-based interventions as the most effective approach to working alongside people who use drugs so as to reduce harms and to promote self-defined resolution of what they define as problematic drug use.

This study examines the psychological and social consequences on victims of aggravated robberies, with the central aim of understanding, from a victim’s perspective, the psychological and social impact of being robbed. In South Africa, there has been a steady increase in aggravated robberies – a phenomenon that has also increased worldwide. The purpose of the research was to explore how aggravated robbery disrupts victims’ core assumption of invulnerability, the ability to handle stress after the incident, as well as the kind of support systems employed to overcome the ordeal. South African citizens, as victims of aggravated robberies, struggle to manage their daily lives. Some aggravated robberies are highly organised by offenders in cases such as cash-in-transit (C-i-T) and bank robberies, as well as the hijacking of vehicles. Other robberies are not as well organised, as is the case with the majority of street robberies. It is worrying when street robberies decrease while and house robberies increase. It is as if the robbers have moved from the street to residential areas. Research data was gathered by means of a survey. Forty-two respondents out of a sample of 1 410 victims, covering all sub-categories of aggravated robberies, were interviewed. Three research sites, namely: East London, KwaZakhele and Mthatha, all in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, were selected with all three exhibiting the highest recorded incidences of aggravated robberies in that region. All participants reported some psychological effects during and after the attacks. Because of physical and emotional trauma, specifically where firearms or dangerous weapons were used to threaten the victims, the findings revealed that the impact of aggravated robberies on victims, which accrue in psychological and social consequences followed by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is prolonged for a considerable period of time. Due to the financial losses, 98 per cent of the victims exhibited psychological distress and became very intense. Very few participants received any support and most of the victims never received assistance or support from the Government during and/or after the robberies. Based on the research findings, several recommendations are formulated for ways in which victims of aggravated robberies can be assisted, inter alia by making psychologists available at police stations to address a perceived lack of services in this regard.

Gangsterism is widely recognised as a serious problem in various communities throughout South Africa. It is specifically communities of the Cape Flats in the Western Cape and those of the northern areas in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape that receive much media attention due to gang violence and related activities. This paper aims to provide some insights into the relationship between gangsterism and the prevailing subculture(s) that provide the context within which gangs emerge and flourish. The paper specifically focuses on the stone-throwing (Afrikaans: ‘klipgooi’) subculture that appears to be the starting point for many youths who eventually end up in gangs. The author utilises the example of the gang-affected community of Helenvale in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa to illustrate the arguments and points discussed.

High crime levels are a challenge to South Africa and it is clear that the South African Police Service needs a broader partnership/collaboration with other organisations and community formations to deal with this matter. Due to its large role in crime prevention and to its enormous physical and human resources that could augment police resources in the fight against crime, the private security industry could play a crucial role. Partnership policing between the South African Police Service and the private security industry is a vital component in the fight against crime. All available resources need to be utilised given the nature and scope of crime, as demonstrated by the recently published crime figures for the 2015-2016 reporting period. The article identifies the barriers to partnership between the police and the private security that has hamstrung any effective and efficient fight against crime. Literature and empirical research was used to identify these barriers and recommendations were made that could minimise or remove these barriers to benefit the partnership.

This article investigates the role played by the important role-players in the implementation of crime prevention at local level in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. It probes the role of the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), District and Local Municipalities, and Department of Community Safety and Liaison in the implementation of Community Safety Forums (CSFs) as a vehicle to deliver coordinated crime prevention efforts at a local municipality. It utilised a sample of 16 participants whose responses were collected through semi-structured interview guide. Research findings indicate that neither of these role-players were playing their role as provided by the policy. Some of the role-players are not even part of the implementation process nor forming part of the CSFs. The absence of such role-players has a negative impact on the successful implementation thereof. Important forums such as Intergovernmental Forum does not exist to ensure that these forums are successfully implemented and that each role-player understands what it is supposed to do. This amongst other things affects the budgeting for the implementation and the buy in from municipalities in leading and sustaining this crime prevention policy. The absence of COGTA and South African Local Government Association (SALGA) in the implementation of these forums left each municipality to decide whether to implement or not implement and they do not account to any institution regarding the implementation status. These municipalities do not have or have not incorporated Safety Plans in their Integrated Development Plans (IDPs).

Cable theft is currently considered a significant problem, globally. The Eskom statistical figures indicate that cable theft creates a massive problem for service delivery and places a vast amount of pressure on its financial resources. Cable theft is highlighted on various platforms within Eskom’s business operating units and while efforts for increased security and protection measures are in place, these measures appear to be inadequate to prevent it. This study investigated the extent of cable theft at Eskom and examined what actions Eskom and private security personnel should undertake to prevent it. This study further determined what action steps need be taken by Eskom’s internal security management team and those responsible for the capturing of all relevant information related to it, in order to prevent any form of cable theft. This research made four key contributions to the subject: (i) A new Eskom security structure was proposed, (ii) a newly designed Eskom training curriculum framework was designed for all private security personnel working at Eskom facilities, (iii) proposed changes to Eskom’s CURA1 system were made, and (iv) proposed changes were suggested for Eskom’s internal ENECC2 cable theft reporting system.

The protection of security information in Government Departments requires the active engagement of executive management to assess emerging threats and provide strong security risk control measures. For most Government Departments, establishing effective protection for security information is a major initiative, given the often continuous, strategic nature of typical security efforts. The purpose of this article is to explain how Government Departments are currently protecting their information against espionage, sabotage, theft and tampering. A qualitative study was conducted within Government Departments in South Africa. The findings revealed that the protection of security information is not implemented in accordance with the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) document and that much more needs to be done to improve the protection of security information. It is recommended that management should conduct continuous risk assessments in their departments to ensure that appropriate security risk control measures are put in place to reduce and mitigate the identified risks.

Harm reduction in the South African correctional system has never been adopted as a policy. What is exercised, however, is a health policy that includes certain elements of harm reduction. Despite some expensive inclusions in the health policy approach, for example HIV testing and provision of antiretroviral medication, basic and inexpensive measures to reduce harm are still excluded. One example is the provision of sterilising facilities for tattooing equipment. Another exclusion is the denial of injection drug use inside correctional centres, contrary to evidence that this practice occurs. More complicated exclusions would include the blatant denial of rape, in particular male rape. These matters are dealt with under the umbrella of sexual assault, despite the existence of legislation that clearly makes provision for (male) rape behind bars. Although the Department of Correctional Services has a positive, commendable approach to many aspects of harm reduction, an encompassing harm reduction strategy is urgently needed. As long as matters of harm are dealt with as if they are merely matters of health, no strategy will be sufficient to address the risk inmates are exposed to. This article investigates harm reduction in the South African correctional system. The Gauteng Province (with the largest number of inmates in the country) serves as basis for the study, while national statistics are used to contextualise various harm reduction aspects. Deficiencies in reducing harm are also pointed out.

This article explores some of the causes of the growth of urban gangs in the Nasarawa local area district of Kano city in Kano State, Nigeria, with an emphasis on the implications and impact of youth involvement in the so-called Yandaba Urban Gangs. In Nasarawa the law enforcement and other security agencies have lacked the capacity to fully implement protection of citizens and law and order. This shortcoming is amply demonstrated through incompetence, a shortage of logistical resources – i.e. poorly equipped – and the overrating of their own abilities to combat the activities of the urban gangs in the Yandaba Ward of Nasarawa. The main aim of this research was to examine the causes, impact and implications of urban gangs for security and the factors that influence an individual to engage in criminal activities. A quantitative research design was applied to examine the causes and implications of urban gang formation. The population of the study involved members of the Yandaba urban youth gangs, residents and some law enforcement officers such as police officers of various divisions of the Nasarawa Local Government. The target population was drawn from eight (of ten) wards in the Nasarawa Local Government District, namely: Giginyu, Kawo, Badawa, Sauna, Brigade, Tudun Wada, Yankaba and Hotoro. The total sample size was 1 280 with a total of 160 respondents being purposively selected from each of the selected ward areas. The results of the analysis revealed that the inability of law enforcement agencies to control and prevent the rise in levels of crime in these ward neighbourhoods contributed substantially to the proliferation of urban gangs in the study area. Based on the results, the study concluded that law enforcement agencies in the region lack the capacity to curtail the growth and proliferation of youth gangs in the area. Accordingly, the study recommended the enhancement of the capacity of the law enforcement agencies so that they can more effectively curtail the proliferation of youth gang formation in the region.

The formal law enforcement agencies in Nigeria continue to grapple with rising insecurity in the country albeit unsuccessfully. It is against this backdrop that this article examines the proliferation and effectiveness of informal security structures for crime control and prevention. This study draws on the Broken Windows and Defensible Space theories. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied to examine the perceptions and narratives of respondents on the proliferation and effectiveness of informal security structures. A total of ten ward areas in the city of Ilorin in Nigeria were purposively selected for this study. These areas of Ilorin were: Baboko, Agbo-Oba, Surulere, Agaka, Oja-Oba, Oke-Suna, Idi-Ape, Omoda, Alfa Yahya and Oke-ebo. A total of 120 respondents were purposively selected from each of the selected areas. The total sample size was 1 200 with a questionnaire being administered to the selected respondents, supplemented by means of in-depth interviews. The quantitative data were descriptively and inferentially analysed; while the qualitative data were analysed thematically. The results indicated that the inability of the formal security structures to control and prevent the rising rates of crime and to protect life and property of Ilorin citizens has substantially contributed, in the surveyed neighbourhoods to the proliferation of informal security structures in Ilorin metropolis. Their presence has significantly reduced the rate of crime in Ilorin. Consequently, in order to make them more effective in crime control and prevention, the state government should provide the necessary support from governmental side for them in the fight against criminality in the metropolis.