SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE CAPACITY TO RESPOND TO CYBERCRIME: CHALLENGES AND POTENTIALS

Abstract

The growing threat of cybercrime poses significant challenges for police organizations. Due to the sophisticated methods used to commit cybercrime, the implementation and investigation of cybercrime have become more demanding and time-consuming. For the police to successfully investigate and punish acts of crime, it is necessary to know and understand the operations of the perpetrators. A qualitative research approach utilizing purposive sampling was adopted to explore the capacity of policing cybercrime in the study area. The findings collected through semi-structured interviews with eight key informants comprising of South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Intelligence Unit officials suggest that there is a limited cybercrime investigative expertise within the specialized investigation units, coupled with the cyber-elements that are part of almost every traditional crime investigation today, has caused a significant increase in the workload of cybercrime investigative units. The study also found a lack of corporation amongst relevant role-players to boost internal cybercrime investigative resources, resulting in capacity challenges in keeping up with the workload. In addition, as the study showed, the lack of a clear legal framework makes it difficult to investigate and prosecute crimes committed with the Internet, as the authorities are forced to rely on the Criminal Procedure Law. The recommendations are presented as a potential step to developing educational packages and awareness programs to provide at-risk groups with effective mechanisms to protect themselves from cybercrime.