Should fighting organised crime be a priority as South Africa deals with crime and human rights, and does the need to combat crime justify extraordinary measures that may limit rights?

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WEATHERING THE STORM: Tough questions for the Scorpions

The ‘Scorpions’ are probably the most recognised law enforcement body in South Africa. Yet their existence appeared to be under threat during 2003 when highly placed figures suggested that they ‘cherry-pick’ their cases, and are open to political manipulation. There was even talk of disbandment or restructuring under the police on the grounds of unconstitutionality. While the Scorpions appear to have weathered that particular storm, the issues remain. Is there any substance to the accusations

The centre cannot hold: The role of subnational governments in policing in South Africa

Doctor Legum - LLDSouth Africa continues to experience one of the highest crime rates in the world. Crime is unevenly distributed, and the police are not trusted by the majority of citizens. The power and responsibility for policing lies with the national government, through South Africa’s negotiated constitutional framework. Only a limited form of policing under local government, severely constrained by onerous requirements, is permitted in the legislative framework. Such centralisation of policing in federal states is theorised to be necessary to avoid partisan policing and armed separatism; to prevent local capture of police by local politicians; to ensure uniformity, equity and democratic change, and to ensure equitable outcomes; and to bring efficiencies of scale to policing

SOUTH AFRICA’S HEART OF DARKNESS: Sex crimes and child offenders : some trends

It is 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. The management of child sex offenders appears inconsistent, and very often no appropriate intervention is made at all. Calculating the actual incidence of child sex offenders is difficult, but some data suggests that children might be responsible for a significant proportion of sexual crimes committed against other children

Constructing pre-trial detention indicators for African contexts: Problems and proposals

This discussion paper arose from the conundrum faced by a paralegal organisation working in an African country in demonstrating both that pre-trial detention is a problem in that country, and that their work has an impact on the problem. The indicators currently employed by states and organisations relating to pre-trial detention have a range of shortcomings in the African context. These shortcomings need to be understood in interpreting indicator values. Indicators should be adjusted, and additional indicators should be incorporated into data collection practice in order to provide a more complete and accurate picture of pre-trial detention in Africa. This paper is intended as a starting point for a broader discussion of the pitfalls and possibilities for the development of indicators in relation to pre-trial detention in Africa

South Africa's Heart of Darkness: Sex crimes and child offenders: some trends

It is 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. The management of child sex offenders appears inconsistent, and very often no appropriate intervention is made at all. Calculating the actual incidence of child sex offenders is difficult, but some data suggests that children might be responsible for a significant proportion of sexual crimes committed against other children

Parallel Policies: Policies relevant to child safety

The Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention’s 2005 National Youth Victimisation Study indicated the need to explore existing policy impacting on children from a social crime prevention perspective within a rights-based framework. This policy analysis was commissioned to undertake that analysis. A social crime prevention perspective is one which views crime as a social problem, stemming from the socio-economic environment and facilitated by through the situation in which crime occurs. The risk factors associated with both victimisation and offending of children are such that policy in the poverty alleviation, health, education and criminal justice sectors are relevant to social crime prevention. Poverty is widespread among children. The current social grants framework does not appear equal to the realities of poverty in South Africa. Problems include the exclusion of children over 14 from child support, the overburdening of the foster system as a result of pressure driven by HIV/Aids, and limitations on the availability of the care dependency grant. The overall health of children is poor and appears to be deteriorating. While free primary health care is available, access in terms of transport, medicines and availability of medical staff is problematical. Preventative care may have been neglected in the drive to provide free primary care. There is a lack of recognition that health is influenced by such factors as housing, access to water and sanitation. There is also no single overarching child health policy. Education funding policy may be having the unintended consequences of exclusions, school drop-outs, and trapping poor children in the weakest, poorest schools. Criminal justice and child protection policy have been hampered by a swing to a ‘tough on crime’ approach, which may be exacerbating the social conditions that lead to crime. Children as victims are not yet adequately protected in the system and they are being imprisoned for longer periods, despite imprisonment being ‘a measure of last resort’. Given the matrix of social risk factors South Africa’s children are exposed to – poverty, disrupted families, poor health conditions, inadequate schooling – it is no surprise that children are at risk from both victimisation and offending perspectives. The current policy framework falls short of meeting the challenges posed by these risk factors. There is much to be done from a social crime prevention perspective

Using data to make a difference: Understanding crime through victimisation surveys

Victimisation surveys have the potential to deepen our understanding of crime in South Africa. Using the example of a survey conducted in Galeshewe, this article considers the challenges facing analysts in analysing victimisation surveys and suggests ways to increase the information that can be mined from local and national victimisation surveys

The Socio-Economic Impact of Pre-Trial Detention in Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia

The project was informed by an understanding of how socio-economic rights intersect with fair trial rights. The nature of the obligations on states, as set out in instruments such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), are such that states should ‘respect’, ‘protect’ and ‘promote’ these socio-economic rights. The duty to respect entails an obligation not to interfere with the resources of individuals; their freedom to find a job; nor their freedom to take necessary action; and to use their resources to satisfy needs. Fair trial rights require inter alia non-arbitrary arrests; that the decision to detain is undertaken by a judicial officer; and that trial or release occurs within a reasonable time. In short, persons awaiting trial should not as a general rule be detained in custody. Socioeconomic rights intersecting with fair trial rights, essentially means that criminal procedural laws and practices must be designed and implemented in such a way as to ensure that the impact of interference with socio-economic rights on all persons, is minimised. Thus detention of an accused should only occur when absolutely necessary and for the shortest possible duration