Criminology and Forensic Studies
This discipline area provides expert knowledge to deal effectively with crime, victimisation and conflict and to promote a democratic and just society with a human rights ethos as set out in the South African Constitution and Bill of Rights and other relevant international legal frameworks and treaties. It introduces students to biological, psychological and social dimensions of criminal behaviour and explores the application of these approaches to an understanding of the diversity of criminal behaviour. The critical evaluation and application of theories to different categories of crime and criminal behaviour provide students with the opportunity to explore and analyse individual and social influences on criminal behaviour. Not only is the multidimensional nature of conflict studied but analyses refer also to the functioning of the major tiers and role-players of criminal justice recognising the importance of judicial pluralism together with emerging forms of justice such as restorative justice. Current scholarly debates surrounding the workings and outcomes of the system and its component parts are analysed and evaluated and theories and perspectives of punishment, justice and crime reduction are appraised providing a critical understanding and specialised knowledge of the evolution, elements, aims and applications of punishment within a local and international human rights framework, focusing also on the gendering of crime and victimisation and minimum standards for child justice reform as well as structural interdicts to ensure state delivery. The importance of the crime case study method is furthermore highlighted with the presentation of material to the criminal justice system informed by scientific rigour. Analyses refer inter alia to the credibility of behavioural evidence, pre-sentence evaluations and victim impact statements.
Collections in this community
Recent Submissions
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Investigating private security service providers’ compliance with relevant legislations in selected drinking establishments in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
(2023)One of the major driving forces in the evolution of policing has been the growth and expansion of the security sector. In the global context, the private security sector employs more security personnel than are employed ... -
Police culture of isolation, solidarity and cynicism: an African criminological perspective on early career police officers.
(2023)Police culture plays a crucial role in shaping law enforcement practices and the overall functioning of police organisations. In Africa, the study of police culture holds particular importance due to the unique historical, ... -
Gender-based violence: sociocultural barriers to men speaking up and seeking help in South Africa.
(2022-03)Gender-based violence (GBV) includes, but is not limited to, physical, sexual, psychological, and other threats, coercion, economic harm, etc. Because of their gender placement in society, men are frequently associated ... -
Mobilising Nigerian Pidgin English as a second language for communication and instruction in primary schools in Ajegunle, Lagos.
(2023-08-03)The language question in former British colonies has been a topical issue in Africa. Independent African states still use English as one of the official languages long after the colonisers relinquished political power. ... -
Exploring Festac Town, Lagos residents’ observations on crime and the influx of unskilled migrants from northern Nigeria and other illegal migrants from Sahel Region.
(2022)In recent times, Lagos State, Nigeria, has been faced with a myriad of security challenges which is manifest in the increase of crime in Festac Town, a Lagos State middle-class suburb. These crimes are exacerbated by the ... -
Was wearing a facemask a form of cultural resistance or a crisis communication challenge? Retrospections on Vrede Community experiences.
(2023-09)It has been three years since the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised the warning level for COVID-19 and declared it a global public health emergency. Since then, the virus has killed approximately seven million people. ... -
Interrogating the normative tradition of Ukukhuzela (court praises) in the age of rape culture in a cosmopolitan society: insights from Zulu students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
(2023-09)Social and cultural norms are guidelines or expectations for behaviour and thought that are based on common beliefs within a social or cultural group. What is (and is not) appropriate in interpersonal relationships is ... -
The role of indigenous language and appropriate channel as strategies for effective health communication in Vrede.
(2022-12)The World Health Organization (WHO) constitution declares health as a fundamental right of every human being, and describes it as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease ... -
Mobilizing Ubuntu as the unifying language for the descendants of Bantu during xenophobic/Afrophobic attacks in South Africa.
(2022-04)South Africa has witnessed a lot of xenophobic uprisings in recent years, and it comes with violent attacks mainly by the black African hosts on the black African migrants, who are mostly Bantu-speaking descendants, just ... -
Exploring Vrede Community views on government communications on COVID-19.
(2022-06)The unprecedented speed and scale of the global pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have literally shut down countries and the global economy. Though a limited outbreak of the disease was noticed around December ... -
The developments of a prosecutorial approach to combat income tax fraud in South Africa.
(2022)The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is South Africa’s tax collecting authority. SARS was established under the SARS Act [No. 34 of 1997] as an autonomous agency, which is responsible for South Africa’s tax system and ... -
A criminological analysis of the commission of cybercrime in the South African banking industry: a case study of cybercrime in banks in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2022)As expenditures in broadband infrastructure in developing countries have increased and barriers to internet access have decreased, this infrastructure has rapidly become a target for cybercrime. Developing countries such ... -
A systematic review of domestic violence impact on children during the Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa.
(2022)This research is relevant to the examination of the impact of domestic violence on children during the COVID-19 lockdown, which is a public health concern. Domestic violence has been prevalent in South Africa before the ... -
An exploratory study on the rehabilitation of female offenders in South Africa.
(2022)No two female offenders are the same. No two crimes are the same. Therefore, rehabilitation programmes need to be tailor-made to match the offender and the offender's crime. The purpose of offender rehabilitation stems ... -
Exploring Vrede Community views on government communications on COVID-19.
(2022)The unprecedented speed and scale of the global pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have literally shut down countries and the global economy. Though a limited outbreak of the disease was noticed around December ... -
Exploring Festac Town, Lagos Residents’: observations on crime and the influx of unskilled migrants from northern Nigeria and other illegal migrants from Sahel Region.
(2022)In recent times, Lagos State, Nigeria, has been faced with a myriad of security challenges which is manifest in the increase of crime in Festac Town, a Lagos State middle-class suburb. These crimes are exacerbated by the ... -
Mobilizing Ubuntu as the unifying language for the descendants of Bantu during xenophobic/afrophobic attacks in South Africa.
(2022)South Africa has witnessed a lot of xenophobic uprisings in recent years, and it comes with violent attacks mainly by the black African hosts on the black African migrants, who are mostly Bantu-speaking descendants, just ... -
The role of indigenous language and appropriate channel as strategies for effective health communication in Vrede.
(2022)The World Health Organization (WHO) constitution declares health as a fundamental right of every human being, and describes it as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease ... -
An explorative study of environmental design and crime: a case study of Merebank, Durban.
(2021)Despite the lapse of twenty-seven years since the abolishment of apartheid in South Africa, the effects of segregationist policies on the demarcation of residential areas based on race and the associated design of built ... -
An exploratory study on ukuthwala and crime: a perspective of inqaba kamvelinqangi cultural organization.
(2021)Ukuthwala evokes emotive responses, with those who either support or oppose the practice. Ukuthwala has also resulted in public debate due to abductions which are viewed as against the young women's consent, but not much ...
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