Introduction to Political Offences Study Unit 1 PDF

9/12/2023 Introduction to Political Offences Study Unit 1 Study Material Bezuidenhout, C., Kempen, A. & Nganteni, G.X. 2020. Crimes of a political nature. In Bezuidenhout, C. (Ed). A Southern African perspective on fundamental criminology. 2nd ed. Cape Town: Pearson. Study material posted on clic...

9/12/2023 Introduction to Political Offences Study Unit 1 Study Material Bezuidenhout, C., Kempen, A. & Nganteni, G.X. 2020. Crimes of a political nature. In Bezuidenhout, C. (Ed). A Southern African perspective on fundamental criminology. 2nd ed. Cape Town: Pearson. Study material posted on clickUP Dr K George 2 Provide an exposition of the ideological points of view pertaining to the nature of political offences Explain why ‘political offences’ is a complex concept to define. Learning outcomes Classify the different types of political offences by means of the following classification systems: Define the concept political crime. Explain the phenomenon of political crime. Explain what the “Rule of Law Index” entails. Provide an exposition of the Batho Pele principles. 3 Introduction: The concept “politics” ▪ Derived from the Greek word politikos which means citizen. ▪ Social meaning of politics- an orderly organisation of citizens in a society, subject to good, fair and responsible government. ▪ Government- control of society and its citizens by ascribed authority, and not by power. ▪ E.g dictators- rule by way of the use and abuse of power NB CLASS NOTES ONLY 4 1 9/12/2023 Conflicting ideological points of view about the nature of political crime ▪ Contradictory points of view about whether or not a phenomenon is a crime ▪ Terrorism (Two perspectives to view terrorism): ▪ From the perspective of victims, be they governments or individuals. It is a crime because people are murdered and injured purposefully, and public or private property is damaged or destroyed on purpose ▪ From the perspective of the offender, doer or “terrorist’- it is about “freedom fighters” who have an ideological objective, namely to replace a specific political system with another that they regard as a fair and valid government NB CLASS NOTES ONLY 5 Political crime- a complex concept…cont 3. Explicit ideologically-founded definitions Any conduct that exploits people can be defined as crime, regardless of whether the conduct is: ▪ Intended Examples-legislation discriminating against people on the basis of race, gender, religion and sexual orientation Apartheid legislation against mixed marriages, Hitler's anti-Semitism and genocide of the Jews in Nazi Germany ▪ Allowed blatantly Examples, ignoring violence on the part of the police, failure to enforce legislation against the industrial pollution of rivers, the sea, air or environment; ignoring the safety of workers in industries and mines; dumping of harmful waste in 3rd world countries by 1st world countries NB CLASS NOTES ONLY 7 Political crime- a complex concept 1. Diverse forms of emergence ▪ Diverse forms of conduct, which cannot always be described under one definition, are labelled as political crime ▪ E.gs terrorism, assassinations, hijacking, hostage taking, torture, uprisings, high treason, sabotage, the enforcement of admissions, detention without trial and kleptrocracy (selfenrichment through bribery, theft and fraud) 2. Focus of definitions ▪ Definitions that focus on crimes against the state ▪ e.g sabotage, political revolt and high treason ▪ Definitions that focus on crimes by the state ▪ e.g kleptocracy, the banning of freedom of the press, detention without trial and assassinations of political opponents ▪ Definitions that try to generalise by focusing on crimes against and by the state NB CLASS NOTES ONLY 6 Political crime- a complex concept.. cont 4. The power to define ▪ Political ruler of the time has the power to define conduct as crime through legislation. ▪ Governments have the power and authority to enforce their points of view on society. NB CLASS NOTES ONLY 8 2 9/12/2023 Political crime: Classification systems Political crime: Classification systems ▪ The typology of Roebeck and Weber ▪ Ingraham’s classification Internal interference by the government: External interference by the government: Intervention against a government: •E.g campaign against Mandela, Steve Biko and others during the apartheid era •When one country interferes militarily with the political conflicts in another country •Various liberation movements such as Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB), PAC, IFP & African National Congress (ANC) Evasion and conspiracy by the government: •Cover up of the circumstances in which Biko died Evasion and collusion or conspiracy against the government: Spying on civilians: •Bugging equipment in the offices of political opponents Local confrontation: •Repression of political gatherings by the opposition 2 • Acts of treason that threatens the safety of the country in the face of an external enemy • Defiance of the political authority and legitimacy of the government (actions that threaten the safety of political leaders and governments) •Evasions of military services 9 Political Crime: Introduction ▪ Governments and politicians are servants of the people. ▪ Unwritten social contract with the government ▪ Government do not always act in the best interest of the people ▪ Service delivery protest action ▪ Political crimes have a distinct character and differ in context (Page 418 of Book chapter) 11 1 3 • Obstruction of official functions (acts that prevent officials from carrying out their tasks for the benefit of society) 10 Political Crime: Definition ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ No specific category exists in the SAPS system State crime or crimes by the state The impact of inequality and power Ross’ outline of crimes by the state Examples of political crimes that had a significant impact on society (Pages 422-223) 12 3 9/12/2023 Explaining political crime ▪ Political crime requires understanding on many levels ▪ There’s a need to strengthen the capacity of government and civil society to counter political crime ▪ Rule of law index ➢ Used to measure to what extent governments, their officials and their agents are held accountable for upholding the law of the land. ➢ Seeks to limit the unrestrained power of the state ➢ Upholds the notion that the single most important litmus test for whether the rule of law is obeyed is that those who govern are subject to the law (Page 429) 13 Explaining political crime (cont..) ▪ Indicators of good governance (where these are lacking, political crime may thrive): ➢ The powers of gov are limited by checks ➢ Power is distributed among the organs of the government ➢ Formal process for independent auditing and review ➢ The executive branch of gov provides the legislature with the latest and most accurate information ➢ The gov provides up-to-date and accurate information ➢ Individuals who report official misconduct are protected from retaliation (Page 429) 14 Explaining political crime (cont..) ▪ Lack of mechanisms to measure and demand accountability makes societies more susceptible to political crime ▪ One of the causes of political crime- those in senior positions ignore the basic tenet of the public service, which is to serve the people ▪ Batho Pele – principles to guide the conduct of all its officials ➢ Consultation ➢ Setting service standards ➢ Increasing access ➢ Ensuring courtesy ➢ Providing information ➢ Openness and transparency ➢ Redress ➢ Value for money (Pages 429-432) 15 4