Institute for Security Studies Seminar: Considering the implications of allegations of police harrassment of sex workers  www.iss.co.za
The Crime and Justice Programme of the Institute for Security Studies will hold a seminar where the Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) will release the findings of research into police harassment of sex workers in Cape Town. This will be held in Cape Town on the 17 May 2006.  View more information >>>>

Armed Response Conference, Johannesburg, 12-13 May 2006
The conference was preceded by a viewing of a photo exhibit and a theatrical production on the evening of the 12th May. The play, entitled 'Armed Response', portrayed, in a critical light, some of the issues surrounding the use of private security armed response services in South Africa.

The first session of the conference entitled 'Security and Statehood' was opened with a keynote address by MEC for Community Safety Firoz Cachalia who identified global trends in the commodification of security and broader concerns about the use and proliferation of private security, concluding with a number of central questions which should be asked when engaging with the utility of private security. 

In general a number of themes were raised by the conference and play - including for instance, the need for regulation of the private security industry, the need for the development of the South African Police Service, the reality of fear of crime, the role of the state, the challenges created by gated communities and exclusive spatial planning. 

Workshop: Restructuring of the ICD
Open Society Foundation, Cape Town, 4 May 2006.
The Open Society Foundation for South Africa organised a one-day workshop in Cape Town for the purposes of allowing interested parties and role-players to discuss and debate issues around the performance of the Independent Complaints Directorate including its management and organisational and legislative structures.  The workshop was essentially a forum for the distribution of a recent report compiled by Duxita Mistry and Melanie Lue-Dugmore for the Institute of Security Studies entitled “An Overview of the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) in the Light of Proposals to Restructure the Directorate”.  The presentation of the report created a backdrop for the discussion of various issues and concerns surrounding the functionality of South Africa’s model of oversight. 

An Overview Of The Ghana Police Service
Emmanuel Kwesi Aning.  Journal of Security Sector Management. 4(2)  April 2006.  Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform.
This study seeks to understand the structural and developmental processes that have taken place in the Ghana Police Service (GPS) since colonial times. The sphere of activities is wide, and a selection of factors show the dynamics of the developmental process which are important for defining how a democratic police service should function.  View full text online >>>>   

The Challenges Of Civil Society in The Discourse Of Human Security In Southern Africa
Ngoma, Naison. Dr.  Journal of Security Sector Management.  4 (2) April 2006.  Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform.  
This article interrogates the role of civil society's participation in human security on the African
continent.  View full text online >>>>   

Domestic Violence Act: National Instruction (Government Notice 207 of 2006)
Government Gazette 3rd March 2006.  View details >>>>

National Policing Standard for Municipal Police Services regarding domestic violence
South African Police Service 03/03/2006.
The national standard which aims to provide clear guidelines for municipal police services to respond to complaints of domestic violence.  View details >>>>

City turned into war zone
Caryn Dolley, Andy Shlensky and Melanie Gosling. Cape Times  17/05/2006
Hundreds of striking security guards went on the rampage through the city centre yesterday, smashing shop windows, looting goods, trashing cars and overturning street-vendors' stalls. 
View details >>>>

'Private security firms are here to stay' 
Hans Pienaar. www.iol.co.za 15/05/2006
Private security companies might not be the most popular service on the market, but we are going to need them for some time to come as the state has largely abdicated its responsibility for our safety.  View details >>>> 

Media release
Independent Complaints Directorate. www.info.gov.za 03/05/2006
The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) wishes to inform that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has decided to prosecute two suspect police officers for their involvement in allegations of corruption at the Kensington Police Station.  View details >>>>   

Police service in massive shake-up 
Wendy Jasson Da Costa. The Cape Argus 03/05/2006
Members of specialised police units - including the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit (FCS) - are to be redeployed to local police stations in what appears to be a sweeping overhaul of the police.  View details >>>>   

Police vigilance yielding success
http://www.sabcnews.com 20/04/2006
Peter Gastrow, the director of the Institute for Security Studies, says improved vigilance by the police and their co-operation with Interpol is beginning to yield successes in their efforts to combat drug trafficking.  View details >>>>     

Guards run amok again 
Janine du Plessis and Barry Bateman. www.iol.co.za 21/04/2006
Striking security guards on Wednesday again caused chaos in Pretoria, trashing city streets, vandalising businesses and robbing pedestrians.  View details >>>>

Violent Cape Town protests spark chaos
Sapa. Mail and Guardian online www.mg.co.za 04/05/2006
Violence flared in early morning protests in Cape Town on Thursday with vehicles and a train torched, the Cape Argus reported. Its website said barricades put up by protesters also caused havoc on the city's roads, with traffic jams and closures during peak hour. Demonstrators in a string of protests included striking security guards -- despite a union promise that guards would not hold protests this week.  View details >>>>    

Selebi snubs probe into police bias 
Paddy Harper. Sunday Times  30/04/2006
National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi has instructed his KwaZulu-Natal top brass not to co-operate with a commission of inquiry into political bias and inefficiency within the SAPS in the province.   View details >>>> 

SOUTHERN AFRICA

ANGOLA: Call on Government to end forced evictions and excessive use of force immediately  
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL  17/05/2006
Amnesty International today called on the Angolan government to immediately end forced evictions and excessive use of force that have left thousands of poor and other marginalised communities without shelter or access to health and other basic amenities.  View details >>>>

Report of the two day interagency forum for stakeholders in police and policing in Nigeria for the review of the draft guidelines for appointment, promotion and discipline in the Nigeria Police Force. CLEEN. www.cleen.org 14th and 15th March 2006.
The two day interagency forum was organised by the Police Service Commission (PSC) in collaboration with CLEEN Foundation and Open Society Justice Initiative. The objective of the Forum was to get stakeholders inputs to the draft standard guidelines already developed by the PSC. Participants at the Forum were drawn from government agencies, such as the Ministry of Police Affairs, Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Women Affairs, the National Assembly; civil society groups such as National Council of Women Society, non-governmental organisations under the auspices of NOPRIN, media etc.  View details >>>>

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights: Oral statement on forced evictions in Africa
Amnesty International. 11/05/2006
Across Africa hundreds of thousands of people each year are forcibly evicted, in many cases being left homeless, losing their possessions without compensation and/or being forcibly displaced far from sources of clean water, food, sanitation, livelihood or education, in violation of regional and international law, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. 
View details>>>>

Taking it to the streets  
www.irinnews.org 27/04/2006
The Zimbabwean government has announced hefty salary increases for the security services, which some analysts claim is a political decision ahead of a threatened civil disobedience campaign by the opposition. The 200 percent salary rise for the army, police and prison services follows a promise made by President Robert Mugabe last week during independence day celebrations to review their pay.   View details >>>>