The process of investigation, which begins when a crime is reported and ends after a
suspect has been convicted or discharged by a court of law, is a mammoth task which
requires cooperation between various stakeholders, such as investigators and
prosecutors. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of the specialised
commercial crime investigators in the prosecution process. The study evaluated and
explored the status of the current roles played by these investigators with the intention
of recommending changes that could improve investigator practice. Two research
questions were posed. First, the researcher endeavoured to find answers to a question
regarding what the prosecution process entails. Secondly, the researcher sought to
establish the roles of the specialised commercial crime investigator in the prosecution
process. It was envisaged that the answers to these questions could be obtained from
specialised commercial crime investigators and prosecutors deployed in the commercial
crimes courts. On this basis two samples were chosen, with nine investigators from the
Gauteng North office of the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit and four prosecutors
from the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Gauteng North. Some of the findings
were that the investigators in trying to fulfil their roles of investigations have an adverse impact on the investigation and successful prosecution of offenders, which in turn lead
to recidivism and apathy among the communities being served by the police and the
justice system in general. The image of the police, particularly that of the commercial
crime investigators, is often negated and the justice system is portrayed as a failure in
addressing the problem of crime. The conclusions drawn from the data were that the
roles of investigators in the prosecution process are mandatory as they are legislated
rather that persuasive and that investigators cannot rely on prosecutors to handle all
aspects of investigation once a case has been handed over to the prosecution. Apart
from a lack of knowledge about these roles, it was established that some investigators
deliberately ignore their roles in this relationship. It is proposed that dedicated training
should be afforded to investigators and prosecutors above their existing training, with a
focus on how to take part in the prosecution process. Investigators should be informed
that their responsibilities in the prosecution process are a result of legislation and that
failure to satisfy the legislation will carry adverse consequences for the investigation
itself, the prosecution and the other stakeholders. / Criminal and Procedural Law / M.Tech. (Forensic Investigations)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/19828 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Nkashe, Manyedi Solomon |
| Contributors | Manamela, Matsidinkane Solomon, Olivier, N. J. C |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (ix, 98 leaves) |
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