Citation

Graan JV, Zinn R. Child Abuse Res. South Afr. 2015; 16(1): 40-54.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, South African Professional Society on the Abuse of Children)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The high incidents of child sexual abuse in South Africa continuously pose great challenges for both the South African Police Service (SAPS) and child care institutions (CCIs) in South Africa. While a vast data base of literature on the causes and consequences of child sexual abuse has been published over the years, the policing of child sexual crimes by means of an intelligence-led approach has been ignored. In this light, this article aims to reflect on the cooperation between the SAPS and professionals in child care institutions as a source of crime intelligence to improve the prevention and investigation of child sexual crimes by means of intelligence-led interventions. The data for the article is based on research on the extent of cooperation between the SAPS and professionals in child care institutions. The research was undertaken among a sample of delegates from child care institutions who attended The South African Professional Society on the Abuse of Children's (SAPSAC) 13th and 14th Annual National Conference, in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Data was gathered through the administration of questionnaires. The sample included 92 child care professionals from the child care sphere in South Africa who attended these conferences. The research findings indicate that effective and efficient cooperation between the SAPS and professionals in child care institutions as a source of crime intelligence could improve the prevention and investigation of child sexual crimes by means of intelligence-led interventions. As a result, it is recommended that sexual crimes committed against children should be addressed using a multi-disciplinary approach to facilitate crime intelligence-led interventions.

Language: en