WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-02-05 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
The government’s decision to incorporate the Scorpions into the police may have been “a little premature”, says a top researcher from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
Johan Burger, a senior researcher with the institutes crime and justice programme, says the Scorpions still have a role to play.
Writing on the ISS’s website late last week, Burger said the Scorpions offered “a law enforcement capability that makes an enormous contribution to the fight against crime and, if properly managed, should act also as a counterbalance to a powerful national police agency”.
“In addition, (the Scorpions) provides the public with an alternative in cases where, for legitimate reasons, they may not trust the police,” he said.
The Scorpions were formed seven years ago in response to “alarmingly high levels of serious and violent crime in SA”.
“Over the intervening years… the Scorpions achieved a number of remarkable successes,” Burger said.
“Now, after only seven years, all of this appears to have been nothing more than a wasted experiment.”
In his article, Burger outlined the Scorpions’ successes and its shortcomings.
“The police obviously resented the creation of another law enforcement body whose existence was justified on the basis of their perceived incompetence,” said Burger.
Burger said police had accused the Scorpions of using their successes to promote themselves and the agency through the media.
“Unlike the police tradition of carrying out arrests without media presence, the Scorpions seldom make an arrest without prominent media attention …
“The police also point out that the Scorpions can afford to be selective in the types of cases they investigate, whereas they have no choice and have to investigate all cases reported to them, even those with little or no prospects of success. According to the police this inevitably enhances the perception that the Scorpions are more efficient and effective.”
Burger said the public had “come to believe in and trust the Scorpions”, and would “rather approach the Scorpions than the police” if they had “sensitive information”.
He said the Scorpions’ “preparedness to investigate and prosecute senior ANC and government officials such as Jacob Zuma and Jackie Selebi, in spite of serious criticism from within the ruling party, has significantly enhanced the publics confidence in them”.
Arguments about the need for incorporation arising from the need to address a lack of coordination and a perceived “turf war” between the police and the Scorpions seemed “petty in the extreme when measured against the huge crime problems facing this country”, said Burger.