D. Tech. Policing / The first legislation on accident reporting in South Africa was promulgated in 1913 in an ordinance of Transvaal, one of the four provinces of South Africa at the time. Since then several amendments have been made to legislation on accident reporting, but accident reporting has continued to be time consuming and unnecessarily complicated. It seems that technology is not yet utilised to its full potential. Therefore this study investigates ways in which an online application (app) for accident reporting could be designed and implemented. The development and implementation of a simpler and modern app for online accident reporting could successfully address the problem of unavailable statistics for minor damage-only accidents. By amending the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act 93 of 1996) to accommodate more cost-effective online accident reporting through eAccident, the time spent on compiling the current accident reports could be minimised and costly human resources could be utilised more effectively in core police functions such as law enforcement.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Traffic Safety Management)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2008. / This research explored ways in which the process of road traffic accident reporting in the Johannesburg metropole could be enhanced. The specific objectives were to systematically examine the process of road traffic accident reporting and to focus on an analysis of (1) the time it takes the relevant authorities to complete the various activities involved in reporting road traffic accidents; (2) the quality of completed road traffic accident reports; and (3) the general experiences of drivers involved in road traffic accidents regarding the system of road traffic accident reporting and information retrieval in the Johannesburg metropole; to draft guidelines for strengthening the process of road traffic accident reporting in the research area, based on the mentioned analysis; and to provide pointers for future research. The study adopted a systems perspective on road traffic accident reporting and took cognisance of the wider road traffic safety management and transportation context in South Africa. The findings underlined that (1) the time taken to report road traffic accidents in the Johannesburg metropole tended to be unacceptably long; and that (2) accident reports tended to be inaccurate and/or incomplete. Based on the findings and the conceptual premises of the study, the researcher developed an accident-reporting management model.

Writing proficiency in the English language is one of the critical workplace competencies required in the police workplace. The aim of this study was to investigate and determine the perceptions and experiences of South African police constables’ workplace English writing needs in selected police clusters in the Gauteng province, South Africa and recommend suitable strategies to address those needs. Therefore this thesis reports on workplace English writing needs from a professional perspective to determine how they impact on the workplace English writing competencies of police constables and also as a basis for the development of a language-integrated learning curriculum in SAPS police training academies. Data was collected through a questionnaire and interviews with selected sample of the respondents. This data was collected on: their perceptions of their workplace English writing competencies, the areas within English writing which they consider to be a challenge, their perceptions about the extent to which the SAPS training programme addresses police officers’ workplace English writing needs and their suggestions regarding the type of SAPS training programme which can enhance their workplace English writing competencies. This study was prompted by concerns from various research studies and media which reported that police officers have inadequate English writing competencies. Among other things, the study found that the absence of an English writing course in the Basic Police Development Learning Programme contributes significantly to the inadequate workplace English writing competency of police constables in South Africa. The lack of awareness of the importance of other writing sub-skills such as punctuation, word classification and correct capitalisation, contributes to police constables incompetence. This research underscores the importance of police constables’ workplace English writing research on a large scale. Such research can be used for improved pedagogy in police training academies in South Africa. Finally, the findings from this study can also be used as a basis for the development of language-integrated learning curricula in the South African police training academies and also to foster awareness about different factors impacting on the workplace English writing competencies of police constables in South Africa. / English Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (English)

Writing proficiency in the English language is one of the critical workplace competencies required in the police workplace. The aim of this study was to investigate and determine the perceptions and experiences of South African police constables’ workplace English writing needs in selected police clusters in the Gauteng province, South Africa and recommend suitable strategies to address those needs. Therefore this thesis reports on workplace English writing needs from a professional perspective to determine how they impact on the workplace English writing competencies of police constables and also as a basis for the development of a language-integrated learning curriculum in SAPS police training academies. Data was collected through a questionnaire and interviews with selected sample of the respondents. This data was collected on: their perceptions of their workplace English writing competencies, the areas within English writing which they consider to be a challenge, their perceptions about the extent to which the SAPS training programme addresses police officers’ workplace English writing needs and their suggestions regarding the type of SAPS training programme which can enhance their workplace English writing competencies. This study was prompted by concerns from various research studies and media which reported that police officers have inadequate English writing competencies. Among other things, the study found that the absence of an English writing course in the Basic Police Development Learning Programme contributes significantly to the inadequate workplace English writing competency of police constables in South Africa. The lack of awareness of the importance of other writing sub-skills such as punctuation, word classification and correct capitalisation, contributes to police constables incompetence. This research underscores the importance of police constables’ workplace English writing research on a large scale. Such research can be used for improved pedagogy in police training academies in South Africa. Finally, the findings from this study can also be used as a basis for the development of language-integrated learning curricula in the South African police training academies and also to foster awareness about different factors impacting on the workplace English writing competencies of police constables in South Africa. / English Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (English)