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This report by the Institute for Security Studies evaluates the 'rural protection plan' implemented in South Africa in 1997 to combat violent attacks on farms and smallholdings. Based on statistics from 1997 to 1999 and fieldwork in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal, the report analyzes the motives behind these crimes, the effectiveness of security structures like the commando system, and the impact of socio-economic factors such as land hunger and poor labour relations.

This report details research by Professor Rudolph Zinn on residential robbery in South Africa, specifically focusing on perpetrators in Gauteng. It profiles offenders as typically young, unemployed males motivated by economic gain who often use inside information to target wealthy households. The report emphasizes that intelligence-led policing and securing the outer perimeter of homes are more effective than visible policing alone. It also provides behavioral advice for victims to minimize risk during an attack and suggests that convicted robbers can be a source of intelligence for police if given small incentives.

This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies examines the challenges facing South Africa's electricity sector, specifically the gap between energy planning and grid planning. Using the International Futures (IFs) forecasting model, the author develops three scenarios to 2050—Current Path, Efficient Grid, and Smarter Grid—to demonstrate how integrated planning, operational flexibility, and coherent policies for small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) can improve economic growth and reduce poverty and carbon emissions.

This report provides a detailed exploration of restorative justice (RJ) projects across several South African provinces, including the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, and Western Cape. It examines the implementation of Victim-Offender Conferences (VOCs) and Family Group Conferences (FGCs) across government departments, civil society organizations, and traditional authorities.

This collection of articles from SA Crime Quarterly No 8 (June 2004) examines various aspects of the South African criminal justice system, including the legality of lethal force in property defense, police accountability and misconduct monitoring, strategies for local crime prevention through by-laws, national victimisation trends, the application of the Domestic Violence Act by magistrates, and the operational mandate and independence of the Directorate of Special Operations (the Scorpions).

This report by the Institute for Security Studies evaluates anti-corruption efforts within the South African Department of Social Development (DSD), specifically focusing on the delivery of social grants. It examines the transition from a fragmented apartheid-era system to a centralized model involving the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), while highlighting systemic challenges such as poverty, maladministration, and inter-agency tensions.

This monograph by Lukas Muntingh of the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO) examines the necessity and implementation of offender reintegration to reduce recidivism, with a primary focus on the South African context. It argues that traditional imprisonment often fails as a crime reduction technique and advocates for a reintegrative approach to punishment and holistic, empowerment-based programming.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies provides a detailed analysis of 787 closed police dockets from Pretoria, Durban, and Cape Town to understand the role of firearms in South African crime. It examines various firearm-related offences, including robbery, murder, and contraventions of the Arms and Ammunition Act, while highlighting significant gaps in police data collection and investigation quality.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the economic reinsertion of demobilised military personnel in South Africa, focusing on the challenges faced by former soldiers from both statutory and non-statutory forces. It analyzes the mismatch between the skills of demobilised personnel—who are predominantly unskilled or semiskilled—and the demands of a South African labour market that increasingly favors skilled workers. The document provides a profile of demobilised soldiers, evaluates the effectiveness of the SANDF's reintegration efforts, and offers recommendations for improving employment outcomes through targeted reskilling and public-private partnerships.

This monograph examines the evolution, legislative framework, and operational challenges of municipal policing in post-apartheid South Africa. It details the transition from apartheid-era township policing and traditional traffic departments to the establishment of modern Municipal Police Services (MPS) under the South African Police Service Amendment Act No 83 of 1998, focusing on the experiences of major cities like Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town.

This report analyzes the restructuring of the South African Police Service (SAPS) detective service, which involved redeploying 503 specialized units to station-level operations to improve crime investigation capacity. The author identifies several systemic failures, including unmanageable caseloads, a rigid bureaucratic hierarchy, and poor conviction rates. The report highlights critical overlaps and rivalries between the SAPS and the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), as well as the precarious financial and operational state of the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD). Recommendations include increasing the number of detectives, reducing bureaucratic controls, and clarifying the mandates of new specialized units to avoid repeating past failures.

This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) provides an overview of the 2007 National Crime and Victimisation Survey (NCVS) in South Africa. It compares data from 2007 with previous surveys from 1998 and 2003 to track trends in victimisation, reporting rates, public perceptions of safety, and the performance of the criminal justice system.

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies proposes a framework for scaling up evidence-based violence prevention programmes in South Africa. It argues that while the country has extensive research on the causes and nature of violence, there is a significant 'implementation gap' between policy and practice. The authors advocate for the use of implementation research and the establishment of an 'implementation hub' to coordinate government, NGOs, and academics in ensuring that interventions are effective, sustainable, and responsive to real-world community contexts.

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies analyzes voter participation and the outcomes of South Africa's May 2014 national and provincial elections. It highlights a steady decline in electoral participation since 1994, particularly among youth and rural populations, and examines the shifting political landscape as the African National Congress (ANC) faces reduced majorities in urban centers like Gauteng.

This fact sheet by the Institute for Security Studies analyzes South African Police Service (SAPS) violent crime statistics for the period of 1 April 2016 to 30 March 2017. It highlights an increase in murders and aggravated robberies, while noting that decreases in assault and sexual offences may be due to declining reporting rates rather than a reduction in crime. The document argues that police performance has deteriorated due to management crises and political interference, and suggests that long-term reductions in violence require addressing root social causes and improving the quality and frequency of crime data reporting.

This document provides biographical profiles of speakers associated with ZondoCon 2023, featuring a diverse group of South African legal experts, government officials, academics, journalists, and civil society activists. The profiles highlight professional backgrounds in anti-corruption, constitutional law, public finance, and governance, with several individuals having direct ties to the Zondo Commission and state capture investigations.

This briefing is a keynote speech delivered by Richard Sizani, Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, at a Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) roundtable on 10 April 2018. The speech addresses the need to improve accountability and transparency in the South African public sector by depoliticising executive governance, professionalising the civil service, reforming State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), and enhancing public procurement practices.

This fact sheet describes the COMPACT Local Government Collaboration Model, a tool designed to facilitate cooperation between municipal administrations, councillors, and the local community to solve complex challenges. The model was developed based on action research in 12 partner municipalities and consists of a five-step process: Purpose, Making Sense of the Challenge, Vision and Hope, Implementing and Adapting, and Reflection and Learning.

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) examines the failure of South Africa to provide equitable and affordable access to sufficient water, despite constitutional guarantees. It argues that the state has substituted a comprehensive human-rights definition of access with a narrow focus on physical infrastructure, while ignoring affordability and water quality. The report highlights the inadequacy of the Free Basic Water (FBW) policy and the systemic contradiction between municipal financial sustainability and the human right to water.

This briefing by Mduduzi Mbada of the Public Affairs Research Institute outlines the GGT2030 strategy for investing in ten high-growth sectors to drive economic growth, job creation, and infrastructure development in the Gauteng City Region.