Reassessing police recruitment criteria in South Africa amid graduate unemployment: A case for prioritising policing-related qualifications

by | Sep 29, 2026 | SACJ, SACJ V39 I1 2026

ARTICLE

Reassessing police recruitment criteria in South Africa amid graduate unemployment: A case for prioritising policing-related qualifications

Author: Radiakga Thabang Molokomme

ISSN: 1996-2118
Affiliations:Dip (Policing) Adv Dip (Policing) Adv Dip (Mediation) PG Dip (Higher Education) PG Dip (Management) (VUT) MPol (TUT) Med (Higher Education) (VUT); Lecturer, Legal Science Department, VUT.
Source: South African Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 39 Issue 1, p. 1-25
https://doi.org/10.47348/SACJ/v39/i1a1

Abstract

When a police badge becomes a lifeline rather than a calling, the very essence of law enforcement is at risk. Amid one of the world’s highest youth unemployment rates, the SAPS is seeing an influx of graduates from unrelated disciplines seeking refuge from joblessness. This desk-based study explores how the SAPS’s recruitment model, particularly through its new e-recruitment platform, has inadvertently positioned the institution as a shelter for structurally unemployed youth, rather than a specialised law enforcement agency. Despite global moves towards professionalised, qualification-based policing, the SAPS continues to admit candidates with no relevant academic background. Drawing on Human Capital, Person–Job Fit, Professionalisation, and Job Queueing theories, the study finds critical qualification mismatches, operational inefficiencies, and threats to institutional integrity. The researcher recommends prioritising policing-related graduates (80%) and limiting unrelated recruits to support roles (20%). The findings have implications for workforce professionalisation, recruitment policy, and institutional credibility. The study contributes a theoretical lens and policy direction for reforming police recruitment in transitional democracies.

404: Victim protections not found. Strengthening legislative and regulatory responses to technology-facilitated gender-based violence in South Africa

by | Sep 29, 2026 | SACJ, SACJ V39 I1 2026

ARTICLE

404: Victim protections not found. Strengthening legislative and regulatory responses to technology-facilitated gender-based violence in South Africa

Authors: Zinhle Novazi & Ronel Koekemoer

ISSN: 1996-2118
Affiliations:BSoc(Law) LLB (UCT) LLM (Taxation) (Wits) LLM (Technology, Media & Telecoms) (QMUL); Attorney of the High Court of South Africa, Member of the Security, Technology and e-Privacy (STep) Research Group, Lecturer in the Department of Mercantile Law Stellenbosch University; BA (Hons) MA (History) (UCT); Head of Safeguarding & Survivor-Centred Programmes, Gender Rights in Tech
Source: South African Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 39 Issue 1, p. 26-66
https://doi.org/10.47348/SACJ/v39/i1a2

Abstract

In an era when digital platforms mediate intimate relationships and social participation, harms increasingly blur the boundaries between online abuse and offline violence. This article interrogates South Africa’s evolving response to technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) through the lens of victim protection and secondary victimisation. It argues that existing debates do not adequately account for this and, as such, risk reproducing structural inequities within the justice system. Using a qualitative doctrinal methodology grounded in feminist victimology, the study combines statutory interpretation, constitutional analysis, and comparative case review to evaluate how the law conceptualises and responds to digital harms. Drawing on literature, policy instruments, and case law, it examines how psychosocial support, access to justice, and institutional cultures shape survivors’ experiences. This perspective centres survivor experience, power asymmetries, and the risk of institutional re-traumatisation within formal legal processes. The non-consensual distribution of intimate images (NCDII) is adopted as a case study to illustrate coercive online–offline continuums of harm and highlight systemic gaps in prevention, redress, and victim support. The article then maps the fragmented legislative framework comprising the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020, the Films and Publications Amendment Act 11 of 2019, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007, the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998, and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, and analyses case law including KS v AM and SHM, FGX v Gaunt, and R v SA. It concludes by proposing a harmonised, survivor-friendly model that embeds victim protections, including institutional accountability, into South Africa’s legislative response to TFGBV. Such a model is anchored in constitutional commitments to dignity, equality, and access to justice, and demands a shift from reactive criminalisation to proactive, victim-centred governance.

Forensic DNA databases: A comparative legal, ethical and regulatory review across six countries

by | Sep 29, 2026 | SACJ, SACJ V39 I1 2026

ARTICLE

Forensic DNA databases: A comparative legal, ethical and regulatory review across six countries

Authors: MM Ramohlale, JH Smith, K Ehlers, J Visser

ISSN: 1996-2118
Affiliations: BSc, BSc(Hons) (UL); Researcher, Department of Genetics, University of the Free State; Dip (Chem), BTech, MTech (TUT), PhD Crim Just (UNISA); Researcher: Forensic and Criminal Investigation Science, College of Law: School of Criminal Justice; Department of Police Practice, University of South Africa; BSc, BSc Hons, MSc (UFS), PhD (UL); Senior lecturer, Department of Genetics, University of the Free State; BSc, BMedSc Hons (UFS), MSc Med Crim (UP), LLB, LLD (UFS); Senior lecturer, Department of Public Law, University of the Free State
Source: South African Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 39 Issue 1, p. 67-94
https://doi.org/10.47348/SACJ/v39/i1a3

Abstract

This article examines the regulation of forensic DNA databases across six jurisdictions: Algeria, Botswana, Canada, Mauritius, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, through a functional comparative framework directed at a South African constitutional question. It evaluates how different systems structure inclusion, retention, oversight, and permissible use of genetic information, and assesses their consistency with principles of legality, privacy, dignity, equality, and proportionality. While several jurisdictions provide more differentiated and rights-sensitive models, it is apparent that no system resolves the constitutional tensions inherent in forensic databasing. The comparative material is used to identify concrete regulatory implications for the National Forensic DNA Database of South Africa, particularly regarding non-convicted persons, retention discipline, purpose limitation, and institutional accountability. Constitutional compliance is not a product of statutory volume, but of principled differentiation and enforceable oversight.

Who controls outgoing extradition in South Africa? A critical analysis of DPP v Cholota

by | Sep 29, 2026 | SACJ, SACJ V39 I1 2026

NOTE

Who controls outgoing extradition in South Africa? A critical analysis of DPP v Cholota

Authors: Abraham Klaasen & Abraham Francois van den Berg

ISSN: 1996-2118
Affiliations: Faculty of Law, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa; Faculty of Law, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
Source: South African Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 39 Issue 1, p. 95-111
https://doi.org/10.47348/SACJ/v39/i1a4

Abstract

None

Crime Scene Investigation: From the Perspective of the First Responder, Crime Scene Examiner and Crime Investigator

by | Sep 29, 2026 | SACJ, SACJ V39 I1 2026

BOOK REVIEW

Crime Scene Investigation: From the Perspective of the First Responder, Crime Scene Examiner and Crime Investigator

Author: Chris Botha

ISSN: 1996-2118
Affiliations: Major general (Ret) South African Police Service (SOE*)
Source: South African Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 39 Issue 1, p. 112-114
https://doi.org/10.47348/SACJ/v39/i1a5

Abstract

None