An Exploratory Study of the South African Police Services (SAPS) Systems in Combating Cybercrime

Abstract

The constant development of technology and computing has tremendously changed how society lives and how crime is committed. The digital age has posed new challenges for law enforcement. It has created new opportunities for computer-related crimes, enhanced the potential for transactional offending, and has been a significant threat to personal privacy. The COVID-19 pandemic brought even more susceptibility and vulnerability to cybercrimes. Cyber offenders preyed on the unexpected increase in the use of the internet and the lack of cybersecurity needed to cater to the rise and vulnerabilities of the internet. One in ten individuals was affected by malware attacks. While South Africa is ranked among the top ten countries on the cybercrime predator list. Numerous research has been done on cybercrimes. However, it is still a topic that remains unexplored, particularly on how law enforcement agencies have responded to the challenges associated with online crimes and if South African law has been able to control cybercriminals. Therefore, the study intends to explore how the South African Police Services (SAPS) respond to cybercrime and offer practical solutions. South Africa has introduced laws and security strategies such as the cybercrime bill to respond to cybercrimes. The Bill was considered to bring a higher level of cybersecurity awareness both in the business and within the government. It offered approaches such as criminalising several online activities and allowed for improved law enforcement agencies’ power to investigate and combat cybercrime. However, the arguments are that these laws and legislation are not adapting fast enough to deal with the constant changes in technology and the new emerging types and methods of cybercrimes. The criminal justice system is still unable to grasp the fundamental aspects of technology-aided crimes. Therefore, SAPS currently deals with cybercrime in an uncoordinated and fragmented manner. Moreover, there seems to be a need for various stakeholders to become involved in tackling cybercrime and work together, including prosecutors and the judiciary, private security agencies and service providers (providers of the internet), and other stakeholders.