How to fix policing in South Africa?

Under pressure to reform after the July unrest, SAPS needs to prioritise efforts to strengthen the overall policing system.

The July unrest raised many concerns about the police’s ability to prevent and respond to widespread public violence and criminality. Considering that the South African Police Service (SAPS) already faced criticism on numerous other issues, how should we understand the weaknesses in the policing system?

What are the priorities for strengthening policing in South Africa? Is the main problem a lack of competent leadership, or are there broader issues that need to be addressed? This seminar will explore solutions to the multiple and complex challenges facing the police and whether there are opportunities for change at this point.

This event is co-hosted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Centre of Criminology at the University of Cape Town.

Chair: Prof Elrena van der Spuy, Department of Public Law and member of the Centre of Criminology, University of Cape Town

Speakers:

David Bruce, independent researcher and ISS Consultant

Mbongiseni Buthelezi, Executive Director, Public Affairs Research Institute

Ziyanda Stuurman, author of Can we be safe? The future of policing in South Africa

Development partners
This seminar is funded by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The ISS is also grateful for support from the members of the ISS Partnership Forum: the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the European Union, the Open Society Foundations and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the USA.
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