Text in English / As an external cause of death, strangulation represents an extreme and particularly pernicious form of violence. Following the evidence gap in the extant literature, the current research examined the incidence, distributions, individual and situational predictors, and structural determinants of homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg for the period 2001-2010. The thesis is structured around four discrete but interrelated studies, which collectively offer an initial contribution to the body of scholarship on homicide generally, and on the characteristics and patterns of strangulation homicide specifically. The research drew on data from the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System and the South African National Census. Study I is a descriptive study that quantifies the extent of homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg and describes its distribution by characteristics of person, time, place and alcohol consumption. The remaining studies are analytical in focus, and are aimed at explaining homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg in terms of its determinants. These studies are differentiated by their focus on individual-level and neighbourhood-level risks. Study II assesses overall homicide strangulation risk in relation to all the other leading causes of homicide. Study III undertakes further disaggregation to investigate homicidal strangulation risk by gender specifically. Study IV considers the socio-structural correlates and geographic distributions of fatal strangulation. The study engages select micro-level and macro-level theories that focus on the intersection between vulnerability and routine activities, gender and neighbourhood derivatives of violence to explain the social ecology of lethal strangulation. The research findings demonstrate that homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg is a unique phenomenon that is distinct from overall homicide. As the fourth leading cause of homicide in the City of Johannesburg, fatal strangulation exhibits a marked female preponderance in victimisation and distinctive socio-demographic, spatio-temporal, sex-specific and neighbourhood-level variation in risk. The study is aligned with the increasing trend towards disaggregating overall homicide into more defined and conceptually meaningful categories of homicide. The study may represent one of the first empirical investigations that also attempts to offer theoretically-derived explanations of homicidal strangulation in South Africa. Fatal strangulation is a multi-faceted phenomenon that requires multi-dimensional and multi-level interventions directed at several points of its social ecology. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Psychology)

This research explored, described and explained the nature and the extent of heritage crime as it manifested in the Gauteng Province of South Africa for the period 2006-2010. Gauteng was selected since it is deemed to be the hub of the legal trade. An operational definition of heritage objects was drafted for this study as ‘objects of artistic, cultural, historic or archaeological value regardless of age, housed in or curated by museums or galleries within Gauteng, and which are both tangible and moveable.’ Heritage crime for the purpose of this study was the illegal removal of any heritage object from a museum or gallery. The annual crime statistics released by the South African Police Services (SAPS) contain no reference to heritage crime of any sort. Therefore this research attempted to quantify the incidents of thefts experienced by museums and galleries in Gauteng for the period 2006-2010. Using a mixed method approach, data were gathered by qualitative and quantitative surveys. A total of 28 qualitative interviews were conducted. These data were integrated with the quantitative data which permitted the achievement of the strategic aims set out for this research. The following aims were achieved: • The roles and responsibilities of the custodians of the national estate were clarified; • International conventions designed to assist in combating crime perpetrated against cultural property were discussed; • The national legislation which guides the management, preservation and protection of heritage objects as well as the trade therein within South Africa was examined; • Policing agencies at the forefront of combating heritage crime were interviewed and international best practices were identified and compared with that which the SAPS are doing to address crime of this nature. These police agencies are situated in Italy, the United Kingdom, the USA and Germany; • The dynamics of the reported incidents of loss/theft were examined. Several anomalies were identified. Among these are the identification of the typologies of items being targeted and the possible identification of the type of thief perpetrating these crimes. • Through analysis of incidents it was also possible to highlight that the majority of thefts occur during the time when museums and galleries are open and that the items stolen are usually on open display (not affixed to the surface and not behind a barrier of any sort). Through the analysis of the data for legal trade and the theft incidents it was possible to design a Framework depicting the interface between the legal and illegal markets for trade in heritage objects. The research also provides law enforcement with minimum guidelines to ensure that crimes of this nature are addressed more effectively. / D.Litt. et Phil. / Department of Criminology (Police Science)

This research explored, described and explained the nature and the extent of heritage crime as it manifested in the Gauteng Province of South Africa for the period 2006-2010. Gauteng was selected since it is deemed to be the hub of the legal trade. An operational definition of heritage objects was drafted for this study as ‘objects of artistic, cultural, historic or archaeological value regardless of age, housed in or curated by museums or galleries within Gauteng, and which are both tangible and moveable.’ Heritage crime for the purpose of this study was the illegal removal of any heritage object from a museum or gallery. The annual crime statistics released by the South African Police Services (SAPS) contain no reference to heritage crime of any sort. Therefore this research attempted to quantify the incidents of thefts experienced by museums and galleries in Gauteng for the period 2006-2010. Using a mixed method approach, data were gathered by qualitative and quantitative surveys. A total of 28 qualitative interviews were conducted. These data were integrated with the quantitative data which permitted the achievement of the strategic aims set out for this research. The following aims were achieved: • The roles and responsibilities of the custodians of the national estate were clarified; • International conventions designed to assist in combating crime perpetrated against cultural property were discussed; • The national legislation which guides the management, preservation and protection of heritage objects as well as the trade therein within South Africa was examined; • Policing agencies at the forefront of combating heritage crime were interviewed and international best practices were identified and compared with that which the SAPS are doing to address crime of this nature. These police agencies are situated in Italy, the United Kingdom, the USA and Germany; • The dynamics of the reported incidents of loss/theft were examined. Several anomalies were identified. Among these are the identification of the typologies of items being targeted and the possible identification of the type of thief perpetrating these crimes. • Through analysis of incidents it was also possible to highlight that the majority of thefts occur during the time when museums and galleries are open and that the items stolen are usually on open display (not affixed to the surface and not behind a barrier of any sort). Through the analysis of the data for legal trade and the theft incidents it was possible to design a Framework depicting the interface between the legal and illegal markets for trade in heritage objects. The research also provides law enforcement with minimum guidelines to ensure that crimes of this nature are addressed more effectively. / D.Litt. et Phil. (Police Science) / Department of Criminology (Police Science)