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Take our police research survey and help us make a difference

In November 2018, Corruption Watch was one of four recipients of the Google Impact Challenge award – a nationwide competition aimed at improving inequality through innovation. Our innovation seeks to improve transparency and facilitate public involvement in the South African Police Service. We are now in the process of developing the product and we’re asking Read more >

Better times ahead for NPA, Batohi, Cronje assure public

The revitalisation of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is under way. On Friday the recently appointed national director of public prosecutions (NDPP), Shamila Batohi, briefed the media on progress in this regard, and also made way for Advocate Hermione Cronje, the newly appointed head of the investigating directorate within the NPA, to shed light on Read more >

Secretive, unearned promotions threaten SA’s policing

By Johan Burger First published on the ISS website As South Africans start to feel optimistic about actions to fix the criminal justice system, a secret project in the police could substantially weaken its ability to become a professional organisation. The South African Police Service (Saps) is promoting 600 people into management positions – not Read more >

Police not coping with serious violent crime

Issued by the Institute for Security Studies A steady rise in murder and armed robbery shows police are not getting a grip on serious violent crime in South Africa, despite a budget increased by almost 50% since 2011/12 to R87-billion. This is largely due to inappropriate political interference in the police, the Institute for Security Read more >

Mbalula: we have a problem with SAPS leadership

Police minister Fikile Mbalula today presented the 2016/2017 crime statistics to the parliamentary portfolio committee on police. The statistics cover the period from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017. This means that at best, the stats are over six months old. Mbalula acknowledged that there is a problem of poor leadership in the South Read more >

Corruption in South Africa: a view from the front line

First published on Transparency International UK David Lewis, executive director of TI’s chapter in South Africa, Corruption Watch, reflects on the country’s current situation and the tools available to civil society to fight back against corruption. When, in the period leading to the formation of Corruption Watch, I traipsed around South Africa and the world Read more >

CW, ISS motivate for public say in top cops’ appointments

Corruption Watch and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) have established a joint public awareness campaign that focuses on the process resulting in the upcoming appointments of the South African Police Service (SAPS) national commissioner and the head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (the Hawks). We believe that both critical appointments require a Read more >

In an ethical meltdown, we must keep ethics alive

By Cynthia Schoeman #KeepingEthicsAlive The current ethical status in South Africa is, to say the least, very troubling. Reports and claims of state capture, corruption and self-enrichment by a select few continue to emerge. The consequent political uncertainty coupled with low economic growth – with junk status threatening even lower growth – pose numerous risks, Read more >