Government Measures to Combat Organized Crime in South Africa

Abstract

The study of organized crime is a relatively new departure in criminology. It began first in the United States in the late 1960s when Donald Cressey was appointed head of the Presidents Commission on Organized Crime. This set the wheels in motion for extensive research in the area. The advent of democracy in South Africa heralded an increase in organized criminal activities. When apartheid ended, border controls were weakened, thus creating new potential areas of operation for organized crime. This also occurred at a time when transnational criminal operations were expanding, just like “legitimate” multinational businesses, East Asian, Nigerian, and East European groups bought into local South African criminal operations and expanded them or contracted subsidiary organizations to conduct their work for them. The South African state has taken several steps to limit organized crime since the end of apartheid. These can broadly be broken down into changes in specialized policing, and in new approaches to combating organized crime, primarily by “following the money” and “taking the profit out of crime.” The SAPS is the largest of the law enforcement bodies in South Africa. Yearly reviews of state performance have highlighted organized crime, ineffective operation and integration, and corruption as serious persistent issues. Various units were developed to address organized crime in South Africa such as the SAPS Commercial Crime Unit, the Anti-Corruption Unit, the Directorate of Special Operations, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, the Assets Forfeiture Unit, the Finance Intelligence Centre, the SARS Customs and Excise Unit, and Border Policing. There were also legal instruments to address organized crime such as the Prevention of Organized Crime Act, the National Crime Prevention Strategy, and the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, among others. Amid criminal justice response and the legal developments, this chapter assesses the nature of crimes committed by organized groups in South Africa. Subsequently, the challenges in the prevention and control of organized crime specifically policy constraints are reflected upon.