South African Crime Quarterly 4
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On 20 May 2003, a national summit on police killings was held at the SAPS academy in Pretoria - the culmination of a series of provincial meetings on the same topic. Although the national meeting did not achieve its objective – the collaborative drafting of a national action plan - the provincial meetings produced a number of excellent recommendations that deserve to be taken seriously. Ted Leggett discusses the reasons for the high number of police killings in South Africa and makes suggestions for dealing with the problem
Gareth Newham and Lulama Gomomo discuss the implications of the closure of the SAPS Anti-Corruption Unit. In 1996 the SAPS established its first internal anti-corruption unit to tackle what was identified as a growing problem of police corruption. Seven years down the line, combating corruption is still a national priority of the SAPS. But recently the SAPS announced that it is closing the anti-corruption unit and integrating some of its members into the organised crime unit.
Many of us know that sex, sexual violence and varying levels of sexual coercion occur in our prisons. But the subject of sex in prison remains an uncomfortable one. While recent media reports and revelations on prison corruption have played a role in bringing it more into the public arena, generally not much is understood about the dynamics of sex in men’s prisons. Sasha Gear and Kindiza Ngubeni provide some insight into the relationships of power and vulnerability that underpin much of the sex that is taking place in this context.
Jean Redpath finds a source of great concern that the number of sexual offences committed by children is apparently on the increase. Given that the Child Justice Bill provides for a separate criminal justice process for children, and stricter provisions for child sex offenders, this article explores some of the relevant trends in this regard.
When it was created, the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) was seen primarily as a mechanism for investigating and deterring human rights abuses by members of the SAPS. It was motivated by evidence of high levels of police brutality, including unjustified killings and the use of torture. However, according to ICD statistics, most complaints received by the ICD are not from victims of police brutality, but from members of the public dissatisfied with the quality of policing service provided to them. David Bruce argues that the ICD statistics cannot therefore be used as indicators of overall levels of police brutality.
Anthony Minnaar and Duxita Mistry draw on a study that examined aspects of the implementation by the South African Police Service (SAPS) of section 11 of the old Arms and Ammunition Act. This section refers to the declaration by the police of a person to be unfit to possess a licensed firearm.1 Although the police are more vigilant than ever about declaring people unfit, their lack of knowledge about the process needs to be addressed, as does the tendency of police and prosecutors to blame each other for problems that arise. Unless these deficiencies are ironed out soon, they will obstruct the execution of the new Firearms Control Act.
