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Administration of justice is one of the fundamental pillars of a democratic order. In recognition of this, the Institute for Security Studies runs Crime, Justice and Politics Programme (CJPP) aimed at contributing the administration of justice in South Africa and the African continent.
CJPP Objectives
- Monitoring and analysis of crime and justice trends. Researchers conduct ongoing research in the field of expertise and provide up-to-date information. This ongoing research is contained in the criminal justice monitor, an information portal that contains research output generated by CJP. The criminal justice monitor is augmented by monographs, papers, SA Crime Quarterly (ISS journal), regular seminars and briefings to policy makers.
- Assessing solutions in the criminal justice sector. This is done through ongoing evaluation of policies, strategies and laws. This evaluation is aimed at regularly assessing the impact of policies, strategies and laws in terms of their effectiveness and seeking possible remedies where necessary.
- Making research count through targeted advocacy and dissemination. This is achieved through briefings to policy makers, diplomats and the business sector. This enables researchers to share results of their ongoing monitoring of the criminal justice system and, in turn, informs the recipients in decision making.
- Technical assistance and capacity building. The ongoing monitoring of the criminal justice sector and innovative, cutting edge research enables researchers to provide capacity building and technical assistance in areas research show as important.
Key Areas
- Policing: one of the key areas for the programme right from its inception was police work. While initially this work focused on policy developments relating to transformation, it has now developed into an ongoing monitoring of developments regarding police and policing. Thus the programme has conducted research in the field of police oversight, the anti-hijacking project, etc. Given the 2010 world cup to be hosted by South Africa, the programme is engaged in research that looks at the capacity of the South African Police Service and other related structures to successfully provide security in public gatherings.
- Access to justice: realising that access to justice is fundamental to any democratic dispensation, the programme focuses on projects that seek to assess accessibility of justice among South Africans. To this end the programme conducted research on the role of traditional leaders in the administration of justice.
- Human trafficking: The research seeks to look at the nature and extent of human trafficking in Southern Africa. Field research has commenced in South Africa and will later be extended to the Southern African region.
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