New Article: ‘The Art of Separating Out: Zones of Qualification and the Production of Illicit Economies in Johannesburg’s City Improvement Districts’

Abstract: While the illicit economy is generally conceived of as either a pre-existing outside reality or the product of governmental discourse, this article proposes to shift attention away from “the illicit economy“ towards the practices that constitute it. Building on actor-network theory, it studies the practices through which the illicit economy is produced in zones [...]

‘Non-state security and justice in fragile states: Lessons from Sierra Leone’

Summary: This Briefing Paper looks at the impact of the relative neglect of non-state actors in security and justice assistance in Sierra Leone. It calls for donors to address this state bias in their programming and sets out four rules for more frequent and more effective engagement with non-state security and justice providers in fragile [...]

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 [...]

Regulating Private Security in South Africa: Context Challenges and Recommendations: a Policy Brief prepared for the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum by Julie Berg and Vavariro Gabi

The paper provides an overview of current oversight and accountability mechanisms for the private security industry, including past regulatory provisions. It examines the challenges and limitations of these mechanisms and highlights potential areas of focus to strengthen accountability in the private security industry, concluding with recommendations. Full citation. Berg, J. and Gabi, V. 2011. Regulating [...]

‘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 [...]

‘Holding Police Accountability Theory to Account’

Abstract: Civilian oversight of police has and continues to be the focus of heated debate, in terms of its efficacy in tackling police misconduct. In recent decades, the debate has broadened as some researchers have argued in favour of a ‘holistic’ approachto police oversight. The latter combines the traditional ‘reactive’ functions (i.e. tacking cases of individual misconduct) with [...]

‘Olympics 2012 Security: Welcome to Lockdown London’

The Guardian, 12 March 2012  London 2012 will see the UK’s biggest mobilisation of military and security forces since the second world war and the effects will linger long after the athletes have left. Around 13,500 troops will be deployed at the London 2012 Olympics, more than are ­currently at war in Afghanistan. With the [...]

‘Keeping the Peace’ Social Identity, Procedural Justice and the Policing of Football Crowds’

Abstract: This paper explores the relevance of the Elaborated Social Identity Model of Crowd Behaviour and Procedural Justice Theory to an understanding of both the presence and absence of collective conflict during football (soccer) crowd events. It provides an analysis of data gathered during longitudinal ethnographic study of fans of Cardiff City Football Club—a group [...]

Globalising Security Culture and Knowledge in Practice: Nigeria’s Hybrid Model

Hills, A. 2012. Globalising Security Culture and Knowledge in Practice: Nigeria’s Hybrid Model. Globalizations  (9)1: 91–106. Public police around the world share certain occupational commonalities, but this does not represent a globalising security culture. Certain norms may appear to facilitate a less ambitious internationalist or transnational culture by modifying police behaviour through processes of socialisation and internalisation, [...]

You Strike a Gathering, You Strike a Rock: Current debates in the policing of public order in South Africa

Tait, S. and Marks, M. 2011. You Strike a  Gathering, You Strike a Rock: Current debates in the policing of public order in South Africa. South African Crime Quarterly 38. Pp 15-22. This article aims to reopen the debate about public order policing in South Africa. Rising levels of violent localised protest and increased brutality in policing [...]