Open AccessThe role of social media in combating organised crime in the Limpopo Province, South Africa
Author(s) -
Christopher Mabasa,
Adewale A. Olutola,
Jacob Tseko Mofokeng
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
international journal of research in business and social science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2147-4478
DOI - 10.20525/ijrbs.v11i1.1553
Subject(s) - commit , social media , officer , criminology , law enforcement , qualitative research , political science , public relations , sword , enforcement , sociology , law , social science , engineering , mechanical engineering , database , computer science
Social media is considered a double-edged sword, with both positive and negative effects. A qualitative research approach was adopted to explore the extent to which and the ways in which South African police use social media in the study area. The findings were collected through semi-structured interviews with 22 participants comprising the South African Police Service (SAPS) officials in the Giyani Cluster policing area. The findings indicate that criminals in the Limpopo Province use social media to commit crimes in the country, other countries in Africa, and elsewhere. The findings also indicate that social media is used to bring positive attention to law enforcement agencies and aid in criminal investigations. Although the positive impact of social media was highlighted in these experiences, persistent problems and challenges also featured in the data. Finally, officer insights were drawn upon to make recommendations for future policing policy and research. This paper concludes that social media as a tool can be utilised in terms of data gathering, prediction and spotting broader patterns, for combating organised crime by the SAPS.