Blog – Policing

Policing – Blog

Why have South Africans been on a looting rampage? Research offers insights

There have been suggestions that the current disorder is akin to a rebellion of the poor brought about by acute food insecurity. Research findings on looting, nonetheless, suggest that such phenomena are rarely caused by one thing. Rather, it’s often the outcome of various factors.

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Summary of the SaferSpaces Online Conference: Preventing Violence in South Africa - From policy making to evidence-based implementation

In a series of webinars on the 7th and 8th of June, we drew from the existing evidence, experience and expertise of the civil society, academia and government sector in the prevention of violence and discussed how this could be utilised for the evidence-based implementation of the most relevant South African safety policy frameworks.

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Safety in numbers
21 Aug 2020 | by Western Cape Department of Community Safety

The WCG Whole of Government Targeted Hotspot Plan works to change individual and community behaviour to slow the spread of COVID-19 in high-population, high-transmission areas. Community Safety, in partnership with lead departments and other spheres of government, has taken proactive measures to protect communities and save lives.

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The coming crime catastrophe: The 2019/20 crime stats and post-COVID19 violence prevention in South Africa
04 Aug 2020 | by Guy Lamb | Safety and Violence Initiative

Various research reports have shown the devastating effect that the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown regulations have had on large segments of the South African population, in which there have been alarming increases in poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, hunger and domestic violence. These dynamics are likely to transform the current crime crisis into a crime catastrophe in the medium term

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Municipal oversight bodies must be beefed up to protect against human rights abuses by police
28 Jul 2020 | by Chumile Sali | African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum

In the wake of the controversy surrounding a video of Cape Town resident Bulelani Qolani being dragged naked from his shack by municipal police, is it not time for a complete overhaul of police oversight mechanisms, and for Ipid to take control?

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Preparation is key to policing a crisis like COVID-19
20 Apr 2020 | by Johan Burger | Institute for Security Studies

Rapid steps taken in SA to combat the coronavirus didn’t allow sufficient planning or training of security forces.

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Fear and policing in the time of Covid-19

There is a menu of compliance strategies and tactics against Covid-19 from which to choose, and indeed there are no easy choices. The South African government has opted for a range of strict and arguably repressive practices to be employed by the security forces. Why were such choices made, especially when most other constitutional democracies have not (yet) adopted such a heavy-handed response? Part of the answer is linked to a deep-seated culture of punitiveness amongst the South African elite in terms of how ordinary South Africans (especially the poor) should be governed, combined with the militarisation of social control, particularly policing.

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Western Cape Government and City of Cape Town launch 500 new law enforcement officers
28 Feb 2020 | by Department of Community Safety | Western Cape Government

The fight against crime in the Western Cape received a significant boost as 500 new learner law enforcement officers took part in the official passing out parade, signaling the start of their deployment on Sunday, 09 February 2020 at Athlone Stadium.

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Social cohesion and collective violence in South Africa
21 Feb 2019 | by Guy Lamb | Safety and Violence Initiative

Social cohesion has frequently been used in government policy documents in South Africa since the late-1990s. Be that as it may, there have been very few detailed analyses of the direct and indirect linkages between social cohesion and violence. That said, in the South African literature on collective violence, particularly those publications relating to vigilantism, violent community protests, and xenophobic violence, research findings have broadly implied that shared community grievances and prejudices about wellbeing, inadequate government services, and the erosion of social control may have contributed to social cohesion with the creation of specific activist groups and social movements.

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What does the 2017 Refugee Amendment Act mean for Asylum Seekers and Refugees living in South Africa?
02 Nov 2018 | by Popo Mfubu | Refugee Rights Clinic, University of Cape Town

The changes proposed in the Refugees Amendment Bill are arguably an attempt to narrow the content and scope of refugee protection in South Africa and, in some respect, limit the rights afforded to asylum seekers and refugees. This piece discusses why the Refugees Amendment Act is so terrible and what effect will it have.

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