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As technology becomes increasingly integrated into policing, with social media particularly contributing to smart policing, understanding frontline officers’ attitudes in this regard remains pivotal towards the successful implementation of social media usage in policing in South Africa. This study explores how detectives in Edenvale perceive WhatsApp and Facebook for reducing house robberies, anchored in the Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) Theory. Employing a qualitative, exploratory design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with purposively selected detectives and were analysed thematically. The findings reveal cautious optimism among the officers as they view social media as offering a clear relative advantage in terms of speed, real-time, and enhanced community engagement. Nonetheless, concerns regarding complexity (digital literacy gaps), compatibility (fit within existing investigative protocols), and organisational readiness, including institutional support and policy clarity not only undermine optimism but also pose some challenge to full and effective adoption. Limited opportunities for trialability and the mixed observability of successful outcomes further temper enthusiasm. The study concludes that targeted digital literacy training, structured pilot projects, and clear organisational policies could enhance the diffusion and sustained use of social media for house robbery prevention. This research contributes to understanding the dynamics of innovation adoption within policing contexts in South Africa, highlighting the nuanced role of technological integration in community safety.

The Nyumba Kumi initiative, launched in Kenya in 2013, is a community-oriented strategy designed to improve security by neighbourhood cooperation, information exchange, and shared accountability. Despite being applied across the country, its efficacy in densely populated informal settlements is variable and inadequately researched. This qualitative research utilises social disorganisation theory to examine the Nyumba Kumi Initiative in Mathare and analogous metropolitan locales, highlighting essential insights from these environments. The study employed a qualitative framework, including comprehensive interviews, focus group dialogues, and key informant conversations with community participants, local authorities, Nyumba Kumi representatives, and security personnel. Thematic analysis was employed to investigate community viewpoints, operational methodologies, and obstacles related to the initiative in urban informal settlements. The results demonstrate that the program has enhanced contact amongst neighbours and facilitated the reporting of suspicious behaviour in certain locales. Nonetheless, the execution in informal settlements encounters obstacles such as elevated population density, residential transience, inadequate institutional collaboration, ethnic heterogeneity, distrust between inhabitants and security forces, and apprehensions over privacy and safety in information sharing. The effort has encountered obstacles pertaining to politicisation, insufficient public knowledge, and ambiguous responsibilities among community stakeholders. The research determines that the Nyumba Kumi Initiative has the potential to improve community safety in informal urban settings. Its efficacy depends on continuous involvement, confidence, transparent leadership, and adjustment to the distinct dynamics of each community. Perspectives from Mathare and analogous environments provide essential direction for policymakers and practitioners aiming to enhance community policing and local safety.

In an era when information is power, the ability to anticipate crime has become more critical than merely responding to it. Effective crime prevention increasingly depends on the strategic adoption of Intelligence-Led Policing (ILP). This study examines the role of ILP as a proactive crime prevention strategy, comparing South Africa with the more established models of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. Grounded in Routine Activity Theory (RAT), this qualitative desktop study draws on fifteen purposively selected academic and policy sources, identified through a documented search and screening process. The findings show that while ILP is well institutionalised in countries with mature policing systems, its implementation in South Africa remains fragmented, constrained by institutional fragmentation, limited analytical capacity, political interference, and resource shortages. Comparative analysis underscores the importance of inter-agency coordination, professionalisation of intelligence units, and context-specific adaptation of ILP principles rather than direct replication of foreign models. The study concludes that strengthening ILP in South Africa requires a unified intelligence framework that integrates community policing, builds institutional capacity, and embeds a culture of intelligence sharing and accountability, and it proposes a research agenda centred on evaluating pilot ILP interventions.

Social media has emerged as a transformative tool in contemporary policing, enabling both crime prevention and crime detection through enhanced community engagement and digital guardianship. This desk research study investigates the utilisation of social media within community police collaboration in South Africa, drawing on Routine Activity Theory and Community Policing Theory as an integrated theoretical framework. Through a systematic review of scholarly literature, policy documents, and official reports, the study examines how social media is conceptualised, identifies documented evidence of effective community police collaboration, and highlights associated opportunities, limitations, and ethical considerations. Findings indicate that social media facilitates the detection of criminal behaviour, deters potential offenders by increasing perceived risks, and strengthens cooperative engagement between citizens and law enforcement. However, unregulated use presents ethical, legal, and operational challenges, underscoring the need for policy-guided, transparent, and accountable practices. The study contributes theoretically by integrating two complementary frameworks to explain crime prevention through detection in digital environments, and practically by providing insights for policymakers and police institutions seeking to leverage social media responsibly.

Community policing was introduced in post-apartheid South Africa to rebuild trust between law enforcement and communities. However, its crime prevention role is limited by persistent challenges. This study explores these limitations through the perceptions of police officers and community members in Bizana, Eastern Cape, using a qualitative design and semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis identified key obstacles: limited police resources, rural–urban inequalities, weak community engagement, and inadequate training. While community policing contributes to social control, crime prevention, and safety, its impact is undermined by poor police–community cooperation and fear of victimisation, which deters reporting and hotspot identification. Structural factors, including poor roads and a shortage of police vehicles, fuel rising rural crime, especially stock theft and drug-related offences. Limited institutional support for Community Policing Forums and night patrols further reduces their sustainability and effectiveness. The study offers context-specific insights into the implementation of community policing in rural South Africa and underscores the need for better resource allocation, stronger partnerships, and context-responsive strategies. It also advances global development priorities, particularly SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), by emphasising accountable, inclusive, and effective policing systems.

Rural police stations in South Africa continue to operate under conditions of severe resource scarcity. This study examines the operational realities of police officers working in under-resourced rural police stations in the Eastern Cape Province, focusing on how they adapt through improvisation and coping strategies. A qualitative research approach was employed using semi-structured interviews with 15 purposively selected police officers involved in frontline and investigative duties. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings show that officers face shortages that affect patrols, response times, and investigations. To manage these constraints, officers depend on improvisation strategies such as sharing resources, adjusting work routines, using personal devices, and cooperating closely with local communities. While these strategies demonstrate resilience and commitment, they also place pressure on officers and risk normalising inadequate working conditions. This study contributes to rural policing scholarship by demonstrating how policing is sustained through everyday adaptation under conditions of chronic scarcity and highlights the implications for institutional accountability and officer wellbeing. In doing so, the study aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), through its focus on improving working conditions and supporting police officers operating in resource-constrained rural environments.

This study examines the effectiveness of police visibility in reducing crime and enhancing community trust in the police within the selected area in Tembisa township, South Africa. Guided by Rational choice theory to explain how the presence of police visibility alters cost-benefit analysis by increasing the risk of detection and apprehension.  A mixed-method approach was employed; qualitative data were collected using structured interviews with 151 participants, including police officers, community policing forum members and community residents, while quantitative data were gathered using paper-based questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics in SPSS. Thematic analysis was used to interpret qualitative responses. The findings indicate that police visibility in identified crime hot spots was frequent and unpredictable, implemented through strategies such as roadblocks, stop-and-search operations, random night patrols, and escorting commuters to taxi ranks during early morning hours. Participants reported a notable reduction in street and violent crime, accompanied by improved perceptions of safety and increased community trust in the police. However, challenges including over-policing, internal misconduct and poor professionalism, such as officers soliciting money during patrols, undermined trust in some areas. the study recommends strengthening hot-spot policing through increased personnel, improved oversight, and the use of body-worn cameras for urgent government investment in police operations. 

This paper examines the ambivalent relationship between community–police relations and informal guardianship systems in rural crime prevention in uMlalazi Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Rural communities continue to experience persistent crime alongside low levels of trust in formal policing structures, raising questions about the effectiveness of institutional crime prevention strategies. The study explores how trust and distrust shape crime-reporting behaviour, evaluates the effectiveness of Community Policing Forums (CPFs) in rural contexts, and examines how informal guardianship systems interact with traditional and municipal governance institutions. A qualitative research design was adopted, using semi-structured interviews with 15 purposively selected participants, including SAPS officers, CPF members, traditional leaders, municipal officials, and community members. Data were analysed thematically to identify patterns of cooperation, conflict, fear, and silence in everyday crime prevention practices. The findings reveal that CPFs are often weakened by criminal infiltration and fragile community–police partnerships. Traditional leaders emerge as primary informal guardians, enjoying strong cultural legitimacy but operating without a clear legal framework. In geographically isolated communities, residents have developed advanced digital surveillance and first-response systems to compensate for delayed police response; however, these initiatives remain unrecognised and unsupported by formal policing institutions. The study concludes that rural crime prevention failures are driven less by resource constraints than by deep-rooted mistrust, highlighting the need for relationship-oriented policy interventions rather than infrastructure-focused solutions.

Notwithstanding the presence of comprehensive legislative and regulatory frameworks designed to direct the South African Police Service (SAPS) towards enhanced service delivery, a continual disparity persists between policy objectives and real-world results. Hoeyi & Makgari (2021) assert that SAPS leadership has persistently encountered difficulties in improving service performance, notwithstanding several reformative mandates and policies intended to alter policing in democratic South Africa. Efficient police service provision is essential for ensuring public safety and cultivating confidence between law enforcement authorities and the communities they serve.  This research examined community opinions regarding police service delivery in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. The research employed a mixed methods approach. The study comprised 383 respondents in the quantitative phase, while the qualitative phase contained interviews with persons from varied demographics and geographic regions. Participants were selected using purposive sampling and cluster sampling methods. The researchers employed semi-structured interviews and questionnaires to gather data. Qualitative data underwent theme analysis, while quantitative data was evaluated via the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results indicated a dichotomy in community perceptions. Tangible resources, including well-maintained police stations and modern cars, were valued; but, the relational and procedural dimensions of service delivery were deemed inadequate. Principal issues encompassed erratic reactivity, inadequate communication, restricted transparency, and allegations of corruption and favouritism. Participants emphasised unaddressed community-specific problems, including insufficient focus on gender-based violence and substance-related concerns. The report proposes creating policies that emphasise transparency and accountability, improving training programs in emotional intelligence and cultural sensitivity, and promoting community engagement through frequent forums and collaborations with local organisations.

This study examines the role of informers in murder investigations in Krugersdorp, South Africa, through the lens of Social Learning Theory (SLT). Using semi-structured interviews with 14 law enforcement officials, the study explores the values of informers, highlighting how detectives recruit, assess, and engage with informers. Findings reveal that informers, categorised as voluntary, hidden agenda, and paid informers, enhance investigative efficiency by providing insider intelligence but also pose ethical and reliability challenges, requiring trust-building and intelligence verification. The study concludes that detectives learn informer management through observation, collaboration, and crisis-based decision-making. Recommendations emphasise structured training, ethical oversight, and institutional safeguards to optimise informer use in murder investigations and law enforcement practices in Krugersdorp. By situating informer use within both theoretical and local investigative realities, the research contributes insights to criminological scholarship, bridging criminological practice with social theory and offering policy-relevant recommendations for training, ethical oversight, and institutional safeguards in resource-constrained environments.

In South Africa, the effective use of crime statistics by the South African Police Service (SAPS) is essential for monitoring and addressing contact crimes, such as murder, sexual offenses, and robberies. The quarterly release of these statistics is crucial for understanding crime trends, especially in the eThekwini District of KwaZulu-Natal, where contact crimes have been on the rise. This study evaluates how effectively SAPS utilizes crime statistics to combat contact crimes in the eThekwini District, identifies gaps in their current approach, and recommends strategies for improvement. Using a qualitative research design, this study engaged 18 participants, including station commanders, members of the Crime Information Management Analysis Centre (CIMAC), Strategic Management officers, and chairpersons of Community Policing Forums (CPFs). Semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted at selected police stations in the eThekwini District to gather insights on their perspectives regarding the use of crime statistics. Thematic analysis was applied to the collected data, revealing recurring themes and patterns. The findings indicate that while SAPS utilizes crime statistics to develop strategies and operational plans, significant gaps exist in their effective application. Socio-economic conditions were identified as factors influencing crime rates, underscoring the complexity of the issue. Furthermore, although crime statistics are used to assess the performance of station commanders, there is a need to review the criteria for these evaluations to better reflect the multifaceted nature of crime. This study highlights the importance of improving the effectiveness of crime statistics as a tool for monitoring and addressing contact crimes in South Africa. It contributes to the ongoing discussion on crime prevention and policing strategies by offering insights into SAPS’s utilization of crime data. The research provides guidance for enhancing policing efforts in combating contact crimes and promoting safer communities. In conclusion, SAPS has the opportunity to refine its strategies and interventions to align more closely with international best practices in crime prevention and community safety.

Corruption within law enforcement is not just an institutional failure, it is a betrayal of public trust that erodes the very foundation of justice. This study explores the systemic factors contributing to unethical practices among South African law enforcement officers, focusing on weak accountability, socio-economic pressures, and political interference. Grounded in Institutional Anomie Theory, the research employs a qualitative analysis of secondary data, including government reports, academic literature, and case studies, to uncover the root causes of police misconduct. The findings reveal that inadequate oversight mechanisms, financial strain on officers, and political influence create an environment where unethical behaviour thrives. To address these issues, the study recommends strengthening accountability frameworks, improving officer remuneration, and minimizing political interference in law enforcement operations. Additionally, comprehensive ethics training and leadership reforms are essential for fostering a culture of integrity. Beyond its practical implications, this research contributes to the theoretical discourse on ethical policing by emphasising the need for systemic change. Future studies should explore the effectiveness of policy interventions and ethical training programs to ensure long-term solutions. Restoring ethical policing is not merely an institutional challenge, it is a moral imperative.

This article examines the necessity for implementing a more intelligent, inventive, and disruptive policing paradigm, such as intelligence-driven community policing, to address both traditional and technology-facilitated crimes. Intelligence-driven community policing is a comprehensive policing paradigm that emphasises the identification and prevention of habitual criminals, concentrating on groups that present a threat and risk to the community. It employs community intelligence alongside other intelligence-driven policing strategies and methodologies to address crime and criminal activity.  The research employed a mixed-methods approach, integrating qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. The data for this research was gathered in three countries: Denmark, the two South African metropolitan provinces of Gauteng and Western Cape, and three Nigerian cities: Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. The findings demonstrate that community policing has been embraced and executed in the majority of jurisdictions; yet, numerous issues hinder its efficient implementation. This encompasses a deficiency in comprehending the model's conceptual framework, misinterpretations and misconceptions by those responsible for its implementation, and an incapacity among the police, stakeholders, and the general public to distinguish community policing from state and regional policing. Innovative policing has significant consequences for international law enforcement in an increasingly digitised and complicated environment. Technological advancements have obscured the distinctions between the physical and digital domains, rendering the criminal scene increasingly global and complex. National and international law enforcement authorities must use innovative approaches and remain abreast of swift digitalisation and technical progress. This study recommends shifting to intelligence-driven community policing by integrating intelligence-led police strategies, techniques, and approaches into the community policing implementation framework. Understanding the conceptual framework of community policing and contemporary implementation methods tailored to the specific demands of each jurisdiction, police agency, culture, and circumstances is essential. A comprehensive recommendation is proposed to enhance the capacity and capability development of criminal justice, law enforcement, and intelligence personnel regarding the execution of intelligence-driven community policing.

This paper aims to investigate the incorporation of the ILP approach in the research area. It assesses If this approach has been incorporated into crime fighting in the police station’s areas which form part of the research. The research was based in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The aim was to establish the incorporation of ILP in the day-to-day operation of the police, and 8 participants were drawn between the CIO and OPO stationed in four districts (Mkhanyakude, Zululand, uThukela, and Amajuba). The participants included two former police officers (one former Commander of CI and a former Station Commander) who were used to validate information by active police officers. One District Commander was also interviewed. Qualitative research methodology was followed to conduct the research and a purposive method of data gathering was used targeting police officers who work in crime intelligence units and those who have authority over the operational members of the SAPS. They provided information that was used to determine the incorporation of the ILP in the day-to-day operation of the SAPS in the research area. The paper found that this policing approach has not been incorporated into some components of policing in the research area. The major identified stumbling in the incorporation is the structural arrangement of the Crime Intelligence Unit which does not sync with crime combating at the station level.

The use of force by members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) has been widely reported. Unfortunately, the situation does not seem to be improving. However, it is not yet reported whether the members of the SAPS instinctively display aggressive or nonaggressive behaviour in response to the handling of violent and non-violent protestations in South Africa. Therefore, this article aims to assess whether police’s behaviour in the handling of protestations is instinctively aggressive or nonaggressive. Secondly, the article reflects on the possible factors that may contribute to the police’s aggressive behaviour towards protestations in South Africa. This article makes use of videography, which is a qualitative method of inquiry and interpretive in nature. Videography involves analysing video data as a focused hermeneutical and ethnographic exercise. In this regard, video recordings that are publicly accessible online which show South African police’s responses and conduct when handling protestation were analysed. Such videos were purposefully selected as they were deemed fit and useful for the object of this paper. Another method that was applied is a critical review of literature on police brutality in South Africa. Based on the analysis of evidence flowing from video analysis, it is clear that members of the SAPS tend to display aggressive behaviour when responding to violent protestations. At the same time, some members of the SAPS seem to lose their temper due to provocations by protesting individuals. The article reveals that the handling of protestations requires a thorough assessment of risks that may be incurred when applying various strategies for crowd management. This may need the state to invest in training and skilling the members of the SAPS in handling of violent and non-violent protestations. The article provides the basis for crowd management specialists within the SAPS to develop strategies suitable for ensuring professional and nonaggressive behaviour by the police in handling both violent and non-violent protestations.

This study aimed to determine what general detective attributes are considered professional in the South African Police Service (SAPS) based on public assessments. This study followed a quantitative research approach and utilized a non-probability, purposive, or judgmental sampling technique. The findings confirmed that good attributes such as acting with integrity, in line with the values and ethical standards of the SAPS, expand on earlier studies that suggested informal contact raises public opinion of the police. It could be that those predisposed to be more favorable are likelier to initiate informal contact with officers. In any event, it seems likely that promoting informal social contact may favorably influence public opinion. The SAPS may want to evaluate how they encourage or discourage informal contact with residents. It would seem then, from the findings of this study, that if more general detectives would portray greater attributes when interacting with the public, there would be more legitimacy, less victimization, less fear of crime, lower perceived levels of violent crime, a lower perceived disorder in one’s neighborhood, and higher neighborhood cohesion and control.

The National Peace Accord, signed by all major political parties in 1991, created various structures through which police accountability could be sought. In 1993, the Interim Constitution of South Africa Act 200 of 1993 formalized the establishment of the Community Police Forum (CPF) at police stations. The SAPS Act 68 of 1995 made a formal provision for a partnership between the police and the community in fulfilling the needs of the community regarding policing. CPF aims to ensure police accountability, transparency, and effectiveness in the community, promoting cooperation between the service and the community in fulfilling the community's needs regarding policing and promoting communication between the police and the community. It was established to maintain a partnership between the police and the communities, to jointly identify priorities and solve problems related to crime, disorder, fear, poor police-community relations and service delivery. Therefore, the police's new vision of policing was introduced by setting up CPF at police stations throughout the country. The implementation of community policing through CPFs has brought to bear the complexity, dynamics, and of social and political relationships at both the provincial and local levels. This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of CPF in crime prevention. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed, and data were collected from 40 community members through face-to-face survey interviews. The research revealed that CPF is ineffective in reducing crime due to the lack of resources to support its functioning. The study recommends proper and frequent communication between the police, CPF and the broader community.

The need for globalisation and a competitive edge in the ever-changing policing trends and crime-combatting strategies necessitates training and development interaction on a global platform. Essential in this regard is the development of skills, among others the training, development, and support of the South African Police Service (SAPS), through local and international training interventions in policing. This study followed the quantitative research design using the random sampling method. One hundred respondents from various SAPS divisions and at provincial level who attended international police training interventions were used as respondents and subjected to the completion of structured questionnaires. The main topic of this research revealed that international law enforcement training interventions were beneficial to the SAPS as it impacts positively on the SAPS’ effectiveness in service delivery. The results of this study is indicative that SAPS engages in the international field on policing practices as a means to train and develop its members beyond the scope of local practices to enable them to expand their knowledge and skills in order to further improve service delivery.

Societies` views concerning the Criminal Justice System institutions are shaped not only by opportunities to interact with such institutions during normal work but also in part by efforts due to the larger mission (of these institutions) of encouraging and supporting such attitudes. Due to the global COVID 19 pandemic, most countries have implemented a lockdown as an initiative to control the spread of the virus. South Africa is no exception as the country joined most countries and announced the national lockdown in March 2020. With the national lockdown, Criminal Justice agencies such as the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were deployed across the country to ensure compliance with the lockdown regulations. The police are the most visible and powerful arm of the state, the nature of the state and the way it is perceived has a profound impact on police-community relations and vice versa. With South Africa’s pronouncement of the national lockdown and state of emergency due to the pandemic, more inquiries and investigations into police practice during the national lockdown will be made. It is precisely in this context that this study aims to reflect on police-community relations during the national lockdown. A criminological analysis on the ramifications of the dented police-community relations due to the national lockdown will be explored. With the national lockdown regulations, clearly gazetted, this study will also employ criminological theories to further interrogate the regulations that impacted on the dented police-community relations.

In South Africa, members of the South African Police Services (SAPS) are constitutionally mandated to protect society. However, while executing their duties, they continuously experience an alarmingly high rate of attacks from alleged criminals, often leading to the death of SAPS members. Subsequently, this situation increases the staff shortage for patrolling the streets and arresting criminals. The situation's aftermath also leads to increasing community perceptions that crime is out of hand and that crime prevention strategies are ineffective. This study examined the ordeal of police victimization in the Mthatha Policing Cluster, Eastern Cape, South Africa. A questionnaire was used for data collection from 105 respondents. The non-probability sampling method was used and the study employed the snowball sampling technique. Results reveal that victimization of law enforcement officers is a reality. The research questions that guided this study included: What are the upheld views by police officers of their victimization? Which factors make police to be susceptible to victimization while executing their duties? What is the impact of police victimization on policing society at large? Altogether, 80.8% of respondents revealed that police are being robbed and assaulted, and in some instances, the use of the K*** word is evident. SAPS members are not fulfilling their mandate because they fear being killed while executing their duties. In the study, new strategies are highly recommended for curbing crime, and police need to be empowered with new, modern techniques of policing.