ISS 5th international conference: National and international perspectives on crime reduction and criminal justice

Date: 2014-08-14 to 2014-08-15

Time: 08:30 to 17:30

Venue: Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel , Sandton , Johannesburg

The ISS’s fifth annual international conference on crime reduction and criminal justice was held on 14 and 15 August 2014 in Johannesburg. Hosted by the Governance, Crime and Justice division, the conference has become a flagship event on the annual ISS calendar and attracts substantial media attention.

Researchers, academics and policy makers from across the globe met to discuss their latest work in the field of criminology and related disciplines.

Advocate Thuli Madonsela, South Africa's public protector, opened the conference with a key note address that discussed the vital importance of accountable and transparent government.

The plenary discussion that followed was convened by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and focused on violence in a society burdened by past oppression.

A new feature of this year’s crime conference is the series of 10 short video clips featuring Thuli Madonsela and other criminal justice experts discussing key issues from the event such as understanding and reducing violence, the underlying factors that contributed to the Marikana massacre, and why transparency and accountability for South Africa to solve its various challenges. These are available here.

For the full programme, click here.
For the conference booklet, click here.

Keynote Address: Advocate Thuli Madonsela, Public Protector, Republic of South Africa (Click here to watch the video interview)

Escaping from the past and securing a just future

In this panel, hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and GIZ Leadership Academy, four experts drew on their collective experience and reflected on how a society such as South Africa – burdened by the persistent challenges of violence, injustice and inequality – is grappling with a colonial and oppressive past. To ignite debate on this topical issue the panelists were guided by this question: Can countries constructively deal with the past to avoid falling into old patterns of inequality and abuse in the present and in the future?

Mr Verne Harris, Director of Research and the Archive, Nelson Mandela Foundation, South Africa
Dr Undine Whande, Independent Researcher, South Africa (Click here to watch the video interview)
Daniel Rafecas, Federal Judge in Buenos Aires and Law Professor at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Mr Mbongiseni Buthelezi, Senior Researcher, Centre for Law and Society, University of Cape Town, South Africa (Click here to watch the video interview)

Protest and Public Violence

Prof Adam Habib, Vice Chancellor and Principal, University of the Witwatersrand – Of politics and protests: is public violence really out of control? (Click here to watch the video interview)
Lizette Lancaster, Manager: Crime and Justice Information Hub, Institute for Security Studies, South Africa – Measuring public violence in South Africa: what do the figures say? Download the presentation
Mr Pacharo Kayira, Chief State Advocate, Ministry of Justice – A full circle of public protests in Malawi. Download the presentation

Combatting Corruption

Mr Gilbert Makore, Projects Coordinator, Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association, Zimbabwe – Combatting illicit financial flows and corruption in Zimbabwe: challenges for state institutions
Ms Jean Phillipo, Doctoral Candidate, University of the Western Cape, South Africa – Politics, personal immunity of incumbent heads of state and combatting corruption: the case of Malawi and Zambia. Download the presentation
Ms Onthatile Olerile Moeti, Attorney at Phumaphi Chakalisa and Company, Botswana – Compulsory declaration of assets by politicians to combat political corruption in Southern Africa: prospects and challenges

Unorthodox approaches to violence prevention

Mr Noah Maltz, Director, and Mr Gil Lang, Business Development, Safety Lab, South Africa – Social innovation applied to violence prevention. Download the presentation
Dr Andrew Charman, Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation, South Africa – Research on the micro-context of insecurity: insights from two socio-spatial approaches
Mr Graham Lang, Chief Creative Officer, Young and Rubicam, South Africa (Y & R SA) – ‘Resist the usual’: applying expertise in advertising to community safety communications

Correctional Reform

Dr Megan Govender, Public Finance Economist, DNA Economics, South Africa – Will electronic and monitoring reduce overcrowding in South Africa’s prisons? Download the presentation
Mr Mike Bately, Executive Director, Restorative Justice Centre, South Africa – Criminal and social justice in South Africa after 20 years of democracy: prospects and opportunities. Download the presentation
Ms Marozane Spamers, Lecturer, Midrand Graduate Institute, South Africa – Mental health policy, criminal justice and human rights in South Africa: gaps in theory and practice. Download the presentation
Mr Matthew Cronje, Research Consultant, Khulisa Solutions and Mr Mike Batley, Executive Director, Restorative Justice Centre, South Africa – Emphasising the need for an integrated approach to intervention. Download the presentation

Empathic Justice

Ms Jean Redpath, Senior Researcher, Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative, South Africa – Unsustainable and unjust: criminal justice policy and remand detention in South Africa since 1994. Download the presentation
Ms Karen Tewson, Deputy Director and National Coordinator, Court Preparation, National Prosecuting Authority, South Africa – Scared and out of control: a crisis in the participation of victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings. Download the presentation
Ms ‘Mapule Maema, Sekwele Centre for Social Reflection, South Africa – Offering hope to survivors of gender-based violence in the eastern Free State. Download the presentation

Preventing Violence

Dr Chandre Gould, Institute for Security Studies, South Africa and Catherine L Ward, Professor, Department of Psychology and the Safety and Violence Initiative, University of Cape Town, South Africa – Early interventions to prevent violence: building an evidence-based support system for parents in South Africa. Download the presentation (Click here to watch the video interview)
Mr Ian Edelstein, Head of Communications, International Committee of the Red Cross, South Africa – Findings from the Khayelitsha Youth Violence Panel Study- pathways to pro-violence attitudes and the effects of a sports-based life skills intervention. Download the presentation
Ms Tebogo Mokganyetji, Research and Special Products Officer, Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme, and Mr Craig R Carty, Managing Director, The Relevance Network, South Africa – Diversion programmes as a corrective measure for young perpetrators of sexual assault: a theoretical approach adapted by the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme in Limpopo, South Africa
Anthony Collins, Associate Professor, Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, South Africa – Too big to jail: structural violence and meta-crime (Click here to watch the video interview)

Violence prevention: Focus on Gender

Ms Nanette Minaar, Strategic Programme Development Manager and Mr Abdulrasheed Inusa Abdulmalik, Research Manager, Khulisa Social Solutions, South Africa – Ending violence against women: the SHINE victim prevention programme. Download the presentation
Mr Douglas Coltart, Legal Practioner at Gill, Gonlonton & Gerrans, Zimbabwe – Protection from the spectrum of violence: how the inclusion of the right to ‘freedom from all forms of violence’ in Zimbabwe’s new constitution can be used to address violence against women
Ms Claire Vermaak, Lecturer, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – Economic inequality as a source of interpersonal violence: evidence from sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa

The Challenges of policing South Africa

Bill Dixon, Professor of Criminology, University of Nottingham, UK – Marikana in context: a case of ‘class repression’? Download the presentation (Click here to watch the video interview)
Mr Gareth Newham, Head of Governance, Crime and Justice Division, Institute for Security Studies, South Africa – From Marikana to Khayelitsha: what commissions of inquiry tell us about the police in South Africa. Download the presentation (Click here to watch the video interview)
Dr Vanessa Barolsky, Research Specialist, Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa – The conditions of violence and solidarity in a post-apartheid South African township. Download the presentation

Innovations in violence and crime prevention

Mr Don Sauls, Acting Director, Policy Research, Western Cape Department of Community Safety, South Africa – The expanded partnership programme (EPP): improving police oversight through community involvement and technology. Download the presentation
Ms Fairuz Mullagee, Senior Researcher, and Mr Hugo van der Merwe, Programme Manager, Centre for the Study of violence and Reconciliation, South Africa – Phoenix rising: the community work programme in Manenberg and its impact on violence
Mr Mokua Ombati, DPhil Candidate, Moi University, Kenya – Public artworks: creative spaces for non-violent protests and civic engagement in Kenya

Responses to Crime and Violence

Prof. Sheldon Zhang, Professor of Sociology, San Diego State University, USA – Estimating crime problems and hard to reach victim populations in South Africa: considering the capture-recapture method
Mr Ganiyu Rasaq Omokeji, Lecturer, Fountains University Osogbo, Nigeria, and Adewale Oladeke, Lecturer and Researcher, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwuye, Ogun State, Nigeria – Formal and informal security sectors’ interactions in crime management in the Mamu community of Ogun State, Nigeria
Mr Chris Kwaja, Lecturer, Centre for Conflict Management and Peace Studies, Nigeria – Vigilantes, crime and violence prevention in Nigeria. Download the presentation

Victim and offender support

Adv. Cherise Lowe, Consultant and the late Adv. Annelie Laas, Consultant, Khulisa Solutions, South Africa – Victim-offender mediation/diaglogue pilot in the Boksburg correctional facility. Download the presentation
Ms Dominique Dix-Peek, M&E Coordinator and Researcher, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, South Africa – Why do clients stay in counselling? A comparative understanding of why clients stay for a short or long time using the CSVR’s psychosocial services. Download the presentation
Ms Elzette Rousseau, Pepfar Fellow and M&E Researcher, African Alliance for Peace, South Africa – Counselling as an intervention strategy for men who use violence in their intimate relationships. Download the presentation

Terrorism and organised crime

Dr Bolaji Omitola, Senior Researcher, Department of Political Science, Osun State University, Nigeria – Between Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen: organised crime and insecurity in Nigeria. Download the presentation
Mr Jonathan Hill, Primary Open-Source Intelligence Analyst and Content Developer, AssessAfrica, USA – Evolution of bombings against transportation infrastructure. Download the presentation
Mr Bello Paul Oluwatsin, Doctoral Candidate, and Dr Adewale A Olutola, Senior Lecturer, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa – Response to human trafficking in Nigeria and South Africa: suggestions for a better practice. Download the presentation
Dr Freedom Chukwudi Onuoha, Research Fellow, Department of Conflict, Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Studies, National Defence College, Nigeria – New wares of trade: understanding the evolving ‘baby factory’ and trafficking in Nigeria. Download the presentation

Understanding patterns of crime

Dr Gregory Breetzke, Professor, University of South Africa (UNISA) – The spatial periodicity of crime in South Africa
Mr Guy Lamb, Director, Safety and Security Initiative, University of Cape Town, South Africa – Policing and the reduction in firearm homicide in South Africa: 1998-2007
Ms Mahlogonolo Stephina Thobane, Lecturer, Department of Criminology & Security Science, University of South Africa (UNISA) – That’s where the money is: the motivation of an armed robber

Policing and integrity

Ms Gwenaelle Dereymaeker, Researcher, Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative, South Africa – When civil damages replace prosecutions for violence committed by law enforcement officials: effective accountability or de facto impunity? Download the presentation
Mr David Bruce, Freelance Researcher, South Africa – Addressing police brutality in South Africa. Download the presentation
Mr Ernst Hendrik van Biljon, Independent Researcher, Pretoria, South Africa – Examining the meaning of crime prevention within the context of a metropolitan police department in South Africa. Download the presentation