Going the extra mile: police training on domestic violence
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Date
2010
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Institute for Security Studies
Abstract
As anticipated by the drafters of the Domestic Violence Act (DVA), the South African Police Service
holds the key to the successful implementation of the Act. Over the past ten years, researchers and
independent bodies tasked with monitoring the implementation of this legislation have consistently called
for more training for police officials on how to deal with domestic violence. However, the reality is that
police officials already receive such training. The question that therefore arises is why these training
programmes appear to be ineffective in ensuring compliance with the DVA. A recently completed research
and advocacy project found that although the majority of SAPS members interviewed had a basic
understanding of the DVA and its key concepts, their ability to apply its provisions in practical problemsolving
scenarios was often limited, leading to the recommendation that training methodologies should be
more practice-oriented if they are to improve DVA compliance.
Description
Keywords
domestic violence, South African Police Service, Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998, Police training, Independent Complaints Directorate, Violence against women
Citation
Combrinck, H. & Wakefield, L. (2010). Going the extra mile: police training on domestic violence. South African Crime Quarterly, 31: 27-34