What works in South African policing?

A review of research finds that SA police and scholars don’t ask the right questions for evidence-based policing.

This report critically reviews the literature for the best available evidence on whether the South African police have achieved their mandate. It offers a reasonable but rigorous evaluation of research for evidence-based policing. Policing research questions should make systematic, empirical observation of a proposed relationship between policing behaviour and policing impact. The report finds that South African police and scholars do not ask the right questions for evidence-based policing.

About the author

Anine Kriegler is a Post-doctoral Fellow with the Centre of Criminology at the University of Cape Town. Her primary research interests are crime statistics and drug policy. She has a PhD and master’s degree from the University of Cape Town and a master’s from the University of Cambridge. She is co-author of the book A citizen’s guide to crime trends in South Africa.

Image: © Amelia Broodryk/ISS

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