Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (former Departments)

Permanent URI for this community

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/3917

Browse

Browsing Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (former Departments) by Author "Foxcroft, Graham"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Interpol National Central Bureau : an operational policy
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2005-04) Foxcroft, Graham; Cloete, G. S.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Foreign criminal syndicates are using South Africa as a springboard to commit certain crimes throughout the world. The crimes vary from fraud to murder to dealing in drugs. The South African Police Service does possess the capacity and the means to trace and arrest these criminals but this is not enough. Foreigners arrested in this country are tried and sentenced without any checks being done in order to determine whether the subject is possibly sought by other policing agencies throughout the world. One of the means available to the South African Police Service but which is completely under utilizsed is the component "Interpol", which is based within the Crime Intelligence division at Head Office in Pretoria. One reason for the under utilisation of this component is the absence of an operational policy. The design of a policy document will inform members of the South African Police Service of the environment in which Interpol operates and what contribution it can make in respect of- the investigation of crimes that have an international dimension. The theoretical aspects of the policy environment have been discussed and it was found that it is of importance that the proper goals and objectives are formulated and that policy analyst must be able to differentiate between the two. As progress is made in respect of the policy document the analyst will have to keep abreast with current tendencies and make the necessary adjustments. These changes must not be of such a nature that the goals and objectives of the policy document are changed or altered. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the police, especially in Europe, began to realise that criminals were regularly committing offences in other countries and then returning to their own country. There was nothing that the police could do in this regard as the extradition of a criminal was done applied for in exceptional circumstances. The possibility of establishing an international policing agency in order to assist all policing agencies in combating these "cross-border" crimes was investigated. The first conference was held during 1914 in Monaco. This was the first of many conferences that would lead to the establishment of the international policing agency known as "Interpol". South Africa only joined the organisation in September 1993. It is proposed that an operational policy document be drafted and send to all the divisions of the South African Police Service. This document clearly stipulates how Interpol Pretoria can be of assistance to all the divisions of the South African Police Service. This includes what must be done when foreign nationals are arrested in South Africa and when members of the South African police Service undertake official journeys to foreign countries. The document also includes how the component is managed, its structure and the nature of its duties. Research has proven that there is a need for a policy document for Interpol Pretoria. It is recommended that the operational policy document be accepted. Once accepted, the document must be converted into a national instruction. The advantages of a document of this nature are: ./' The component already exists and no additional funding is required to establish the component. ./' More members of the South African Police Service will be able to make use of the services rendered by the component. Of the disadvantages in this regard, is that it is a long-winded procedure that has to be followed before the document is approved. Visits will have to be undertaken to hold "information sessions" with the commanders within the various provinces. Research has illustrated that policy documents are valuable within the Public Service. The absence of a policy document is not necessarily a disadvantage to certain units within the policing environment but when it comes to available resources not being optimally utilized, the reason therefore could be the absence on an operational policy.