One of the more speculative tasks of this book is to assess what impact those gangs are likely to have on the changes urban South Africa will undergo in the last two decades of the 20th Century, be it peaceful, reactionary or revolutionary. A rather more immediate task, and a necessary precursor, is to explore the functions of these gangs and the causes of their existence. But this immediately leads us into wider and deeper areas, to poverty, social dislocation and strategies of class defence. And within and beyond these conditions can be found an ongoing struggle for survival, a class struggle, and the outline of the state itself. (It is here that one encounters a strange paradox: a system which upholds law and order while at the same time creating the preconditions for its breakdown.) But we must start with the street gangs. A count in 30 areas on the Cape Flats during 1982 found in daily existence 280 groups who identified themselves as gangs. Nearly 80 per cent of the gang members interviewed for this study said their group was more than 100 strong, 54 per cent put the figure at 200 and several as high as 2000. An extremely rough estimate gives a figure of 50,000 youths who would define themselves as gang members, or about five per cent of the city's total population.

One of the more speculative tasks of this book is to assess what impact those gangs are likely to have on the changes urban South Africa will undergo in the last two decades of the 20th Century, be it peaceful, reactionary or revolutionary. A rather more immediate task, and a necessary precursor, is to explore the functions of these gangs and the causes of their existence. But this immediately leads us into wider and deeper areas, to poverty, social dislocation and strategies of class defence. And within and beyond these conditions can be found an ongoing struggle for survival, a class struggle, and the outline of the state itself. (It is here that one encounters a strange paradox: a system which upholds law and order while at the same time creating the preconditions for its breakdown.) But we must start with the street gangs. A count in 30 areas on the Cape Flats during 1982 found in daily existence 280 groups who identified themselves as gangs. Nearly 80 per cent of the gang members interviewed for this study said their group was more than 100 strong, 54 per cent put the figure at 200 and several as high as 2000. An extremely rough estimate gives a figure of 50,000 youths who would define themselves as gang members, or about five per cent of the city's total population.

Includes bibliographical references. / Women in rural and severely underprivileged areas remain one of the most vulnerable groups in South Africa to violence in their communities and in their homes. To date, information on rural women, their experiences with domestic violence and social development is both fragmented and inconsistent. The issue of access to justice for rural women presented in this thesis is based on the premise that violence against women keeps women in conditions of poverty, and fear of poverty keeps women trapped in violent situations. It is also based on feminist theory that argues that historical, legal, cultural and political factors contribute to domestic violence and even with emerging policy and legislation promoting wo1nen's safety and freedom from violence, the criminal justice system has not shed it's predilection of institutionalised sexism. It will be argued that systemic discrimination against rural women has lead to the inadequate implementation of legislation and policy relating to women's fundamental rights to safety and freedom from violence. This research, therefore, takes the challenge of constructing an appropriate framework for an integrated analysis of law, gender, and social development. It does so through a feminist jurisprudence framework. The central aims of the research are to: (i) examine the nature or profile of domestic violence in rural areas; (ii) identify the obstacles which prevent women from accessing justice in the face of domestic violence; (iii) identify support mechanisms within rural communities for victims of domestic violence; (iv) explore current policing, justice and health care responses to rural women who experience domestic violence; (v) examine the nature of secondary victimisation of these women by their communities and the relevant criminal justice departments; (vi) examine the nature of current policy and legislation in relation to violence against women and establish the extent to which they have impact on rural women; (vii) to identify gaps in service delivery in rural areas and (viii) to highlight the unique barriers to justice that rural women face. The issues of access to justice for rural women is introduced in this thesis through a study undertaken in rural areas in the Southern Cape. Access was facilitated to 15 different communities in the Southern Cape and 168 women in total were interviewed on issues of violence against women and access to justice. Another 28 women were interviewed on issues relating to maintenance. The primary data collection technique of this research in the Southern Cape took the form of 19 focus-group interviews through a cross section of community structures. These interviews took the form of 'workshops', in which an active exchange of information between the researcher and the researched took place. The focus-group interviews were held in communities in Knysna, Rheenandal, Kurland Dorp, Plettenberg Bay, Sedgefield, Mossel Bay and George. The results indicate that access to justice for rural women is limited for the following reasons: (i) women in rural areas lack nearby services and the cost of transportation decreases a won1an's ability to leave violent situations or even seek information or assistance to deal with the problem; (ii) Women in small rural communities articulate fears of community gossip or alienation from their communities if they seek assistance; (iii) women in rural areas have little option but to remain in the home with the offender because there are no accessible safe houses or shelters; (iv) women remain powerless over alcoholism within their communities; (v) rural women remain in abusive relationships because they have little access to economic resources; (vi) limited access to state and private health, welfare and justice services results in systemic discrimination by the state in almost every area of rural w0men's lives; (vii) distances to basic public services are great and child care is a problem if travel is necessary; (viii) very few development services exist in rural communities; (ix) there are no or limited taxi and bus services and if they do exist they are expensive; and (x) the combined effects of poverty and violence for rural women in the Southern Cape creates formidable barriers to women's equality, mental and physical health, and their full participation in civil society. In light of these results current South African policy and legislation relating to domestic violence and crime prevention are discussed. The thesis concludes that current law contains systemic inequalities, that state legal structures are inherently discriminatory against women and, more specifically, do not meet the needs of rural women.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the administration of criminal justice at the Cape of Good Hope during the crucial period 1795 - 1828 in order to provide an insight into the roots of our present system and to shed some light on the various factors which could play a role in the creation of a system of criminal justice.

The poaching of the rhino of southern Africa is not a new debate. In fact, it has been a key area of environmental concern for a number of years. Today, it falls under the rubric of ecological criminology which shall be addressed in this dissertation. I intend to deal with the impact poaching and the illegal trade has had on this endangered species and, in addition, to give an overview of the current measures of the criminal justice system in force to combat it. I shall discuss the international perspective and propose some solutions to prevent the further elimination of the species. Approximately 350 million wild animals and plants are traded each year world-wide, estimated to be worth US $20 billion per year. It is argued that up to a quarter of this trade may be illegal .and, thus after drugs and weapons it is the third most significant trade internationally. This illegal activity continues despite the operation of an international convention aimed to prevent it, the Convention on International Trade in · Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, (CITES). I shall address many of the attributes of CITES, but also consider its numerous flaws which have failed to protect · the rhino adequately.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Past research has shown that many youths in the United States age out of foster care group homes unprepared for independent living. Lack of connections to adults, low educational attainment, and homelessness are negative outcomes that have been linked to incarceration for youth who age out of foster care. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine how well the independent variables of connection to adults, educational attainment, and homelessness predict the dependent variable of likelihood of incarceration for African American males (n = 504) within 3 years after aging out of foster care group homes. The Bridges transition model was the theoretical framework for this study. Data came from the archived National Youth Transitional Database. Logistic regression revealed that connection to adults, educational attainment, and homelessness were not statistically significant predictors ("Ï?2 = 4.64,df = 3,p > .05) " of the likelihood of incarceration for African American males within 3 years of aging out of foster care group homes. The Nagelkerke R2 value showed that the independent variables accounted for only 2.9% of variance in the model. Additional research is needed to determine what services, skills, or resources African American males may need to minimize the likelihood of being incarcerated after aging out of foster care. Findings from this study could contribute to social change by providing professionals in human services and other fields with empirical evidence that there is a need to extend the range of services provided to African American males in foster care to minimize the likelihood of them experiencing incarceration after aging out of foster care.

Within the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice system, juvenile delinquency referrals have decreased, yet at the same time, juvenile recidivism rates continue to challenge policy makers. Using Hirschi's social learning theory as the foundation, the purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of juvenile justice professionals about their experiences with youthful offenders in order to determine the causes of juvenile recidivism. Data came from in-depth interviews with 9 participants including state attorneys, judges, and mental health counselors from within the central region of the state of Florida. Data were analyzed and coded using Colaizzi's method. Two primary themes emerged from the analysis of data: First, participants perceived that the influence of peers and factors such as environment, family criminal and mental health history, substance and abuse, truancy have a significant effect on juvenile recidivism. Second, participants perceived that parent bonding is the most important factor in reducing recidivism among juveniles aged 17 and 18 years old. The positive social change implications of this study include recommendations to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice to implement, modify, and improve services and policy to reduce recidivism for juveniles aged 17 and 18 years old. This implementation, modification, and improvement may reduce recidivism among this subgroup of juvenile delinquents and may reduce the number of young adults entering the criminal justice system.