crimefinal.qxd

This report describes the activities of the Network of Independent Monitors (NIM) in South Africa, focusing on its transition from monitoring political violence to addressing gang crime in the KwaMashu township. It details the development of a gang monitoring system designed to provide early warnings and facilitate community-police partnerships to prevent violence.

• The Network of Independent Monitors (NIM), established in 1992, initially focused on monitoring political violence to create an environment for free political activity and break cycles of impunity before the 1994 democratic elections.
• In the KwaMashu township of Durban, gang crime increased after 1994, exacerbated by a South African Police Service (SAPS) presence perceived as incompetent or indifferent, partly due to the legacy of the former KwaZulu Police Force (KZP) and its history of leading violent attacks.
• NIM achieved success in KwaMashu by partnering investigators with witnesses, notably in the 'KwaMashu Five' case where killers of ANC canvassers were convicted through the facilitation of a state witness and a police investigation unit.
• The conflict between the Crusante and Ferange gangs in KwaMashu, which resulted in over 200 deaths between 1995 and 2001, originated from tensions involving Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) trainees and the confiscation of firearms.
• NIM developed a gang monitoring system in 2000 to provide early warnings of crime and an intervention mechanism using 'gang teams' composed of residents, police, and other community members.
• Research into KwaMashu gangs revealed specific characteristics: they often lack visual identifiers like uniforms or graffiti, are frequently transitory or nameless, and over 80% of serious crimes are committed by groups of two people.
• Gang activity in KwaMashu is influenced by high access to firearms, the consumption of alcohol, mandrax, and crack cocaine, and is sometimes motivated by HIV infection awareness.
• The success of crime prevention in KwaMashu relied on informal partnerships between NIM, the SAPS, and the Community Policing Forum (CPF), highlighting a need for provincial-level forums to coordinate government and non-governmental organizations.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). crimefinal.qxd. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PREVENCHAPTER7.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. crimefinal.qxd. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PREVENCHAPTER7.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=crimefinal.qxd |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PREVENCHAPTER7.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndcrimefinalqxd, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{crimefinal.qxd}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PREVENCHAPTER7.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }