How Poor Leadership Undermines the Work of the South African Police Service

Abstract :  There can be little doubt that the many examples of senior officers being implicated in criminal activity and corruption is eroding both public trust and police morale. Furthermore, it is demonstrative of the extent to which effective leadership is lacking in the SAPS. The leadership problem starts with who is appointed as the most [...]

‘Cleaning up the ’hood: Focusing on drug markets rather than users means less crime’

The Economist, 3 March 2012 Police watched seven people sell drugs in Marshall Courts and Seven Oaks, two districts in south-eastern Newport News, in Virginia. They built strong cases against them. They shared that information with prosecutors. But then the police did something unusual: they sent the seven letters inviting them to police headquarters for [...]

Summoning the Superheroes

Travis, J. (2011) Summoning the Superheroes: Harnessing Science and Passion to Create A More Effective and Humane Response to Crime. Key Note Address. Washington D.C.:The National Press Club. Judge Hughes, Marc Mauer, dear friends: I am honored to have been invited to deliver this keynote address as we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Sentencing [...]

The Fantastical World of South Africa’s Roadblocks

Marks, M. (2011) ‘The Fantastical World of South Africa’s Roadblocks: Dilemmas of a Ubiquitous Police Strategy’, Policing and Society 21(4): 408-419. Roadblock operations are a very prominent feature of the policing landscape in South Africa. They are increasingly being employed as a tactic for crime reduction and as a mechanism for reassuring the public that [...]

Establishing Police Authority and Civilian Compliance in Post-apartheid Johannesburg

Steinberg, J. (2011) ‘Establishing Police Authority and Civilian Compliance in Post-apartheid Johannesburg: An Argument from the Work of Egon’, Policing and Society Advanced Access. Egon Bittner’s seminal insight is that a precondition of democratic policing is a demand for it among the general population. What happens when that demand is absent? What happens, in other [...]

Neighborhood Accountability Boards

Schiff, M., G. Bazemore and M. Brown. (2011) ‘Neighborhood Accountability Boards: The Strength of Weak Practices and Prospects for a ― “Community Building” Restorative Model’, Journal of Law and Policy 36(17): 17-46. In the mid-1990s, restorative justice practices became known to a number of criminal and juvenile justice practitioners and justice reform advocates. While the [...]

Understanding Cooperation with Police in a Diverse Society

Murphy, K. and A. Charney (2011) ‘Understanding Cooperation With Police in a Diverse Society’, British Journal of Criminology Advanced Access. Past research has shown that procedural justice enhances an authority’s legitimacy and encourages people to cooperate with them. However, this past research has examined legitimacy by focusing solely on the perceived legitimacy of authorities and [...]

Problems of Power in the Design of Indicators of Safety and Justice in the Global South

Stone, C. E. (2011) ‘Problems of Power in the Design of Indicators of Safety and Justice in the Global South’, Indicators in Development Safety and Justice April. In matters of government, indicators are instruments of power. They are not merely this, for indicators can also be sources of insight and pride, promoting good governance through [...]

Policing a Plurality of Worlds

Hills, A. (2011) ‘Policing a Plurality of Worlds: The Nigeria Police in Metropolitan Kano, Northern Nigeria‘, African Affairs Advanced Access. The prevention of inter-communal conflict in cities where multiple religious and secular norms and processes affect the delivery of security and justice is a major challenge for governments and residents. Most analyses of conflict prevention [...]

Professional Ethics and Academic Integrity in Police Education

Stout, B. (2011) Professional Ethics and Academic Integrity in Police Education. Policing, 5(4): 300-309. The involvement of police officers in qualifying training and professional development at universities has highlighted the issue of academic misconduct. There has been relatively little attention paid by universities to the particular issues raised by academic misconduct on professional programmes, including [...]