Crime and Policing in Post-Apartheid South Africa : Transforming under Fire

by Shaw, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780253215376
• ISBN10: 0253215374
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-08-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

"[A] cogent and well-informed discussion of the South African Police Service and the organisational problems it faces." -- Stephen EllisSince the mid-1990s, South Africa has experienced a crime wave of such unprecedented proportions that the ability of the new democracy to form a stable civil society and govern effectively has been called into question. In this timely book, Mark Shaw describes how a police force that was so effective under apartheid became so ineffectual in the face of rising crime. He shows how an increase in violent crime shapes society, police, and government, and discusses possible solutions for the current crisis. International crimes such as war, terrorism, and organized crime are explored along with crimes that affect individual security, such as armed robbery, murder, and rape. Crime and Policing in Post-Apartheid South Africa draws attention to both the national and the international dimensions of crime in this society in transition.

Author Biography

Mark Shaw is a research fellow in the Department of Political Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, and former director of President Mandela's special government unit on crime and justice.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
Preface	xi
Terminology	xv
Abbreviations	xvi
A criminal state	1	(21)
The crime of apartheid	2	(4)
Youth and crime	6	(4)
Apartheid as crime prevention	10	(5)
Crime and the decline of apartheid	15	(7)
The politics of police change	22	(20)
Negotiating a new police	25	(3)
Legitimacy first, all else will follow	28	(6)
Partners in crime	34	(3)
New issue, new agenda?	37	(5)
Confronting the violent society	42	(21)
Counting the cost	43	(7)
Unequal victimisation	50	(2)
Comparisons and characteristics	52	(6)
A nation in need of healing	58	(5)
The rise of orgnaised crime	63	(20)
Connections and continuities	66	(3)
New democracy, unsafe neighbourhood	69	(3)
Conflict and crime	72	(3)
New and stronger players	75	(4)
A criminal future?	79	(4)
Public reactions to insecurity	83	(19)
A battle of perceptions	85	(6)
Divided by fear	91	(4)
Ourselves alone?	95	(7)
The impact of private policing	102	(17)
The security boom	104	(6)
A contracted divide	110	(5)
A new reality?	115	(4)
Assessing state responses	119	(22)
Local policing and accountability	120	(6)
Paper promises?	126	(5)
The new police	131	(5)
Judging success	136	(5)
Conclusion: options and prospects	141	(18)
Towards democratic policing	143	(4)
Designing a new safety system	147	(4)
Undercutting crime and its causes	151	(4)
Crime and democracy	155	(4)
Bibliography	159	(6)
Index	165