Acta Criminologica: Southern African Journal of Criminology - latest Issue

This review describes research on the homicide of infants (aged 0-1 year), pertaining to victim and perpetrator characteristics. A search of eighteen databases, yielded fifty-three included articles, of which, thirty-nine were cases studies, two qualitative, and twelve quantitative. The diversity of study methods and shortage of robust, dedicated studies prevented adequate synthesis of the findings. This review, therefore, encourages the development of more targeted research focused on the homicide of infants.

Corruption in South Africa is endemic and statistical data show that government is failing to combat this scourge effectively. Mcebisi Jonas, former Deputy Finance Minister, has observed that South Africa has experienced a ‘silent coup’ and become a ‘shadow state’ riddled with corruption, while others say that the country is on the verge of becoming a ‘Mafia state’ and a recipe for a failed state. This article assesses and reports on the performance of role players responsible for the investigation and prosecution of corruption, based on published data from annual reports and statistics for the three-year period 2014/15 to 2016/17. The performance of similar bodies in Hong Kong, Singapore and Lithuania is considered. It is shown that the successes achieved by South African agencies in combating corruption are limited and relatively lower than their three international counterparts.

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the measures in the prevention and control of organised crime by government agencies based in Limpopo Province. The research was qualitative in nature and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 law enforcement officers from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), Department of Safety Security and Liaison (DSSL), South African Police Service (SAPS), Home Affairs, South African Revenue Services (SARS) Customs and Excess, Assets Forfeiture Unit (AFU), and the National Prosecuting Authority Priority Crime Litigation Unit (NPA PCLU). Data was analysed though thematic analysis. The results revealed that the government strategies in Limpopo still require concerted efforts in the prevention and control of organised crime. The Limpopo provincial government identified several measures in the fight against organised crime in the province. It subsequently adopted three of these measures, namely: i) a criminal justice response; ii) an institutional response; and iii) a legislative response to organised crime. However, the measures implemented by various units within the criminal justice and local government spheres were found to be ineffective in dealing with organised crime, since organised criminal networks are often flexible, dynamic, innovative and resilient. Furthermore, corrupt activities and collusion by law enforcement officers with organised crime syndicates hinder the effective implementation of the selected strategies to control organised crime. The findings of this study show that there is co-ordination and communication amongst certain law enforcement agencies, such as the DPCI, SARS, Home Affairs, and the NPA PCLU. This co-ordination transpires through intelligence, information sharing and interoperability. The study highlighted the poor implementation of the multi-agency approach, as one institution is expected to facilitate and lead the prevention of organised crime (which is the DPCI). The findings further highlight, for example, that the smuggling of illegal cigarettes is currently a challenge for the provincial government as a highly committed organised crime. The study recommends the development, by the government, of an Organised Crime Threat Assessment in order to effectively recognise the need for responses, which should be based on a sound understanding of the nature and characteristics of the organised crime environment. In addition, it recommends the development of an Organised Crime Response Plan to align efforts to identify critical organised crime threats. The study further recommends the adoption, by the government, of relevant multi-agency approaches in addressing organised crime – both operational and policy or regulatory – which will underpin a provincial-wide government approach to organised crime.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) and concerned citizens of Ga-Rankuwa (a township north of Pretoria) have shown commitment by implementing drug prevention and deterring initiatives in the community. Regrettably these initiatives have not yielded any real drug abuse reduction in the neighbourhoods. This article seeks to demonstrate the challenges and circumstances that exist on the path towards achieving the mandate of the police and the wishes of the community-based organisations directed at drug abuse prevention and combating. The study made use of a sample of 96 participants of 18 years and older, who participated in a survey. A purposive sample of ten staff members from the community-based organisations and six police officials participated in oral interviews. Besides the primary data, secondary data sources were also consulted to back-up the claims that emerged from this study. While the study documented some of the challenges facing the police, including corruption and community aloofness, it further revealed the lack of capacity of community organisations to make meaningful contributions in this case. However, the lack of partnership and trust between the police and the community stakeholders is cause for concern and may hinder prevention and combating efforts. The study, therefore, creates a debate for further engagement in this partnership gap, which needs to be investigated.

Rail transport is generally regarded as one of the safest modes of transport, particularly when compared to road transport, since it experiences fewer accidents and fatalities. However, annual reports by the South African Rapid Rail Police Unit show the security of commuters within the rail transportation environment in a different light. This article presents the challenges faced by the South African police deployed in the rail environment in reducing the use of illicit drugs on local trains. Using purposive sampling techniques, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the Rapid Rail Police Unit of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA) Protection Security Service to obtain in-depth first-hand information on illicit drug use on trains. The study found that the demand-supply business of the illicit use of drugs, such as marijuana, is commonplace and an everyday occurrence on local trains. Issues such as overcrowding on local trains and a shortage of police personnel are the main challenges faced by the police on local trains. This study recommends an increase in police visibility on trains, the use of drug detection dogs on train platforms and enhanced communication between the police and stakeholders such as the PRASA Protection Security Service (PSS) and commuter forums.

This article investigates factors that inhibit the implementation of partnership policing in Soshanguve Township (north of Pretoria) in South Africa. In this research, 45 participants were interviewed in a series of focus-group interviews. These participants ranged from members of the South African Police Service to members of the community in the area. Furthermore, the article examines what challenges were encountered in the implementation of partnership policing in the area, and to what extent the local police met these challenges. The results can assist policy makers and police management on how to improve policing activities and implementation efforts. Although the study focused on Soshanguve Township, its findings may have implications for many policing areas in South Africa that are faced with similar challenges in the implementation of partnership policing. The results indicated that community members tend to disagree on whether the police understand their role in or are confused about the partnership policing strategy and principles. The research revealed that much uncertainty in Soshanguve still surrounds the proper implementation of community policing in this township. Due to the challenges, the partnership policing strategy in the township, at the time of the research study, was yet to produce the expected results on crime prevention.

Institutional gangs, violence and inmate misconduct is a very prominent feature in correctional centres, to such an extent that they now pose a serious threat to the safety of the inmates, officials, and the broader community. According to researchers, the cause of the phenomena relates to the theories of deprivation and importation. The Deprivation Theory proposes that deviant behaviour is a product of the oppressive conditions that inmates are subjected to upon incarceration and the Importation Theory argues that individuals import their deviant characteristics to a correctional centre. This paper involves a systematic review of the importation theoretical concept from a South African perspective. The paper critically reviews the empirical literature on the Importation Theory that relates to inmate misconduct, violence and gang membership in correctional centres. The individual level variables identified by the Importation Theory include age, race/ethnicity, sociodemographic status, criminal history, gang affiliation, and substance abuse. The authors reviewed 23 studies, conducted between 2010 and 2017 that were predominantly from the United States and other countries. Studies of this nature were very limited in other countries including South Africa. The results indicate several general conclusions on certain variables, whereas in others, such as race, a different perspective was found within the South African context. Empirical evidence in the different variables was very limited, due to the non-existence of similar studies and the paper highlighted future research. The paper also presented the methodological limitation of the research.

Maritime piracy is clearly defined under international law, briefly, as any act of violence committed for private ends on the high seas by one vessel against another. However, this definition is based on common law that arose during piracy’s Golden Age, more than 300 years ago, and as such does not reflect the modern realities of practical activity. This raises several challenges around understanding and fighting back against piracy. Indeed, the inadequacy of the legal definition can be seen in application with current ‘piracy’ hotspots in West Africa and Southeast Asia, where, despite acts occurring being branded and dealt with as piracy, do not actually technically constitute piracy, because they take place in territorial waters, and are sometimes motivated by political ends rather than private gain. Given these limitations and the implications of the differing ideas surrounding how piracy should be defined, it is greatly important that a more applicable definition for piracy and the subset of crimes referred to as piracy be developed.

This study was conducted in Kano Central and Goron-Dutse prisons to empirically examine the perceptions of correctional officials on correctional centre social setting and general practices in Kano state, Nigeria. The sample comprised both male and female correctional officials in the study area. Questionnaires amounting to 207 were administered to correctional officials in Kano Central and Goron-Dutse prisons. A sample size of 207 was determined using the sample size calculator at a confidence interval of +5, confidence level of 95 percent out of a population of 449 correctional officials. Selected findings reveal that most of the respondents in Kano Central prison (59.8%) stated that infrastructure was adequate compared to only 40.2 percent of correctional officials in Goron-Dutse Prison. This study concludes that the desired rehabilitation can be achieved with concerted efforts by the Nigerian government by providing decent rehabilitation programmes and facilities across the two correctional centres studied with due regard to the fact that there was some level of dissatisfaction by some respondents. This study recommends monthly or quarterly assessment of correctional centre conditions by the Nigerian government.

The relationship between occultism and crime has often been explored in the criminological literature within the context of ritualistic crimes. In many instances, such crimes have been linked to Satanism and the occult (in its various guises). In the United States (US), Perlmutter’s (2004) text on religious terrorism and ritualistic crimes sought to provide some insights into the ritualised context of occult-related crimes and identified various subgroups whose criminal activities are underpinned by specific religious and ritualistic beliefs and practices. In the South African context, various scholars have explored occult-related crimes ranging from Satanism-related crime to African witchcraft-related crime. However, in the South African context, little work has been done on the relationship between the occult and crime within the context of youth gang subcultures. This discussion seeks to contribute to this under-researched issue by arguing for a rethinking of occultism and crime. It is argued that the emergence of occult beliefs and practices among youth gangs in South Africa necessitates a new way of approaching the occult and crime relationship, one that seeks to apply perspectives on this relationship to gang subcultures. This suggested rethinking of the occultism and crime relationship is timely, especially considering the apparent rise in occult-related dynamics among youth gang subcultures in South Africa and elsewhere.