Thesis (DTech. degree in Policing)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2011. / A qualitative research design, using the research technique of interviews with indirect observation, was adopted for this study. A total of twenty (20) crime prevention practitioners in the criminal justice structures of Nigeria and South Africa were interviewed for the purpose of data gathering. The interview questions were standardised but open-ended. The main findings are the following: At present, none of the criminal justice institutions in Nigeria and South Africa can prevent crime. Long term crime prevention is presently not possible in Nigeria and South Africa as the root causes of crime in the two countries lie outside the control of the criminal justice systems. The root causes of crime in the two countries were identified as being, among others, dysfunctional family settings, a history of violence, accessibility and availability of criminological commodities, real need and poverty, inequality among the population groups, greed on the part of those that have, and poor leadership. The main recommendation is as follows: The governments of Nigeria and South Africa need to focus their attention on the root causes of crime and not only on the criminal justice institutions.