Open AccessPOLICING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: The enthusiasm gap
Author(s) -
Antony Altbeker
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
sa crime quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2413-3108
pISSN - 1991-3877
DOI - 10.17159/2413-3108/2005/v0i12a1012
Subject(s) - enthusiasm , grasp , criminal justice , affect (linguistics) , economic justice , criminology , political science , law , domestic violence , sociology , psychology , engineering , social psychology , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , medicine , medical emergency , software engineering , communication
Those monitoring the Domestic Violence Act generally conclude that it is poorly understood and badly implemented by officials in the criminal justice system. But a project aimed at understanding how ordinary cops police South Africa’s streets concludes that part of the problem with this conclusion is a failure to grasp the real limitations – legal, logistical and emotional – under which policing operates. These limitations, combined with the sheer volume of cases, affect the way in which ordinary officers handle these incidents.