Tackling Police Brutality Through Non-Violent Strategies in South Africa

Abstract

The chapter examines the non-violent strategies that could be used to tackle police brutality. While the existing literature has focused on why police brutality is taking place, the primary objective of this chapter is to bridge the knowledge-gap with reference to non-violent strategies using three levels (strategic, tactical and operational). The chapter reviews current scholarly arguments. Two theoretical perspectives were employed to dissect variables of police brutality. The chapter argues that although non-violent strategies may appear to be effective in theory, they seem to be ineffectual in practice owing to implementation challenges. The failure of non-violent strategies is attributed to a disjuncture between policy objectives and implementation. The chapter concludes that lack of resources, lack of police transformation and lack of police accountability remain the key hindrances in the fight against police brutality. The chapter also recommends that partnerships need to be strengthened among oversight bodies and regulatory frameworks.