Policing for a new South Africa

The state police force of South Africa has acquired massive notoriety since its formation. Its officers have developed a reputation for routinely provoking violence and torturing suspects. As the key bastion of apartheid it is in urgent need of change. In Policing for a New South Africa Mike Brogden and Clifford Shearing evaluate the options for change. They critically analyse orthodox policing ideas imported from the West and contrast them with the indigenous models of independent policing from the townships of South Africa itself. Policing for a New South Africa documents this network of local policing and judicial processes. Together they offer significant possibilities for the future within a dual policing system, of the State and civilians.

Importantly, the authors suggest that South Africans need not import ideas wholesale from the West when they have their own experience on which to draw. In fact, in the light of the relative failures of their own police systems, the West may have much to learn from South Africa.