NCJ Number
182379
Journal
African Security Review Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: 1999 Pages: 3-12
Date Published
1999
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article assesses South Africa's legislative, policymaking, and operational response to organized crime
Abstract
Of the 10 laws analyzed in this article, 4 became effective during 1997 and 1998, and 1 at the beginning of 1999. The Witness Protection Act will become effective during the latter half of 1999, and legislation on money laundering possibly not until 2000. International experience has shown that it takes time for a criminal justice system to implement new laws effectively. This is especially true in the case of organized crime, as investigators work in teams and investigations are lengthy and intricate. Much needs to be done to improve the operational effectiveness of the police. Investigations by the South African Police Service are inadequate. The average workload of a detective consists of the investigation of 140 separate cases simultaneously, making any thorough investigation impossible. A number of specialized crime units that investigate serious crimes are particularly understaffed. This has led to the inevitable result that of the 58,700 reported cases of commercial crime in South Africa in 1997, there were only 4,370 convictions. The legislation necessary to fight organized crime is largely in place in South Africa; what is needed is a concerted effort to implement it by improving the operational capacities and training of all the main components of the criminal justice system. 45 notes