Explore publications.

This study investigates the manifestation of administrative sabotage within the South African policing domain, challenging traditional criminological discourses that isolate corrupt officials as individual bad actors. By adopting a critical victimology lens, the research explores how institutional bad barrels weaponise bureaucratic procedures to facilitate systemic infiltration and silence internal dissent. The analysis incorporates contemporary evidence from the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry (2025–2026) and Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee reports including testimonies regarding the political disbanding of specialised task teams and the physical coercion of forensic analysts to demonstrate how knowledge sabotage and procedural exhaustion function as structural instruments of victimisation. The findings indicate that the intrusion of political interests into the high echelons of crime intelligence has effectively paralysed institutional neutrality, creating an environment where administrative infrastructure is used to obstruct rather than facilitate justice. The study concludes that existing reactive legal protections, such as the Protected Disclosures Act, are insufficient to counter these proactive structural assaults. Consequently, the paper recommends the establishment of a centralised, independent oversight body with the authority to interdict retaliatory administrative acts in real-time and the mandatory decoupling of policing functions from political interference

Public hospitals in South Africa are regularly faced with safety and security incidents that expose personnel, patients, and visitors to serious and violent crimes such as assault, rape and murder. In addition, theft of valuable assets, is a huge problem in public hospitals. This article identifies the ineffectiveness of security measures implemented in public hospitals and formulation of an integrated security management model. A quantitative study was conducted at five public hospitals in the province of Gauteng. Quantitative data were collected through a survey questionnaire. Additionally, safety and security documents were analysed, followed by observations of security personnel in the control rooms. The findings revealed that safety and security measures implemented by these hospitals do not fully comply with the Control of Access to Public Premises and Vehicles Act, No. 53 of 1985. The research participants identified gaps and shortcomings such as poor implementation of access?control measures that included the searching of personnel and visitors. This results in the loss of assets and the disappearance of patients from hospital premises. The research confirmed that inadequate security systems regarding perimeter fences, closed?circuit television and trained security personnel at the research sites made it difficult to deter, detect and detain perpetrators. This research contributes by highlighting safety and security procedures that need to be followed to keep personnel, patients and visitors in public hospitals safe. Furthermore, the use of an Integrated Security Risk Management Model developed specifically for public hospitals during this research is recommended.

Murders and attacks against women and youth are rising in rural South Africa. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) enables chiefs and headmen to maintain peace and order; however, violence suggests that traditional authorities and professional law enforcement rarely operate in tandem. This study examines the challenges and provides recommendations on how traditional leadership can foster sustainable crime prevention in the Amathole District of the Eastern Cape Province. A qualitative study design was used to conduct semi-structured interviews with fifteen (15) chiefs, headmen, and ward committee members from varied rural communities in the district. Thematic analysis identified leadership engagement, community participation, and local crime-fighting strategies. Traditional leaders play a crucial role in rural administration, possessing moral and cultural authority that can be leveraged for social control and early intervention. However, insufficient cooperation with the South African Police Service (SAPS), limited resources, and a lack of institutional recognition for community safety initiatives, such as village night patrols and Community Policing Forums, limit their capacity. When urban migrants return home for holidays, crime rates, notably violent assaults and gender-based violence, climb, showing that social dislocation and alcohol consumption worsen tensions. The Chiefs agreed to work with SAPS on community awareness, customary punishments, and CPF reactivation. The study found that rural safety requires a hybrid crime prevention paradigm that combines state and customary authority. Integrating COGTA's governance structure with community-based policing could boost rural resilience, trust, and accountability. The study highlights indigenous governance as a social sustainability mechanism in rural South Africa, supporting Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

Rehabilitation remains a core mandate of correctional services; however, in South African Correctional centres, particularly within Limpopo, its effectiveness is constrained by persistent structural and social barriers. Overcrowding, limited resources, unsafe environments, and the entrenched culture of gangsterism undermine rehabilitation initiatives and compromise both staff and inmate safety. Correctional officers, who play a central role in rehabilitation delivery, face excessive workloads, inadequate support, and poor working conditions, resulting in stress, burnout, and diminished service quality. These conditions contribute to ineffective rehabilitation, increased recidivism, premature inmate releases, and violations of offenders’ rights, raising concerns about the overall credibility of the criminal justice system. This study examined barriers to rehabilitation in Limpopo correctional centres, focusing on correctional officers’ experiences. A quantitative approach was adopted, with purposive sampling of 345 officers across six centres. Findings revealed that overcrowding is the most critical challenge, negatively affecting healthcare, accommodation, food provision, and access to training programmes, while weakening institutional control. Gangsterism, evolving from protection-based groups to networks of power and illicit trade, further obstructs rehabilitation. Officers reported unsafe conditions, exposure to violence, and shortages of resources, compounded by recruitment, retention, and training gaps. The study recommends diversion of minor offenders, deportation of foreign nationals, broader use of community corrections, enhanced anti-gangsterism strategies, and partnerships with external stakeholders to support sustainable rehabilitation.