Young mother Surinda du Preez stood transfixed, barely able to breathe. A single thought went through her head: "I’m looking at the devil". She was staring straight into the eyes of a man whose alleged crimes had earned him the title: Modimolle monster. She was staring at Johan Kotze. It was 10 January 2012.

‘I’ve never seen anything like this, that a person can do this to another human being.’ – Renier van Rooyen, prosecutor.

3 January 2012 is a day the community of Modimolle in Limpopo, South Africa will never forget. On this day, Johan Kotze did the unthinkable. Kotze not only orchestrated the gang rape of his wife, before torturing her, but also murdered her nineteen-year-old son. His unthinkable actions earned him the name Modimolle monster, and have made him infamous.

Love is War tells the sobering story of the workings of a twisted mind, and the weighty consequences of actions. Maughan takes a walk on the macabre side, through an in-depth analysis of Kotze’s story. From his life before the horrific events, to coverage of the trial, Maughan leaves nothing uncovered.

While the trial continues, and the authorities try to ascertain whether or not Kotze is sane, his now ex-wife tries to deal with the fragile remains of her life, and South Africa holds its breath in the hopes that justice will be served in what is certainly the most talked-about case of the year

After a string of police botches, Captain Ben "Bliksem" Booysen was assigned the Krugersdorp Killers' case in 2016.

Eleven people had already been brutally murdered by a group calling themselves Electus Per Deus. Booysen made headlines when he arrested the mastermind Cecilia Steyn, and her accomplices.

South Africa's own "Chuck Norris" takes the reader behind the scenes of the satanic killings, divulging new and shocking details of the crimes that have kept the nation on edge for almost a decade.

In 2005, Fred van der Vyver, a young actuary and the son of a wealthy Eastern Cape farming family, was charged with murdering his girlfriend, Inge Lotz, allegedly bludgeoning her to death with a hammer as she lay on a couch in her lounge. The case against Van der Vyver seemed overwhelming. His behaviour at the time of the murder appeared suspicious and the forensic evidence seemed to prove his guilt.

And yet, in one of the most sensational and controversial murder trials in South African legal history, Van der Vyver's lawyers sought to turn the table on the police, accusing them of fabricating evidence and lying to the judge.

Now updated with the tale of the remarkable events that followed the judge’s verdict, prize-winning author Antony Altbeker takes you into the heart of the epic courtroom battle. His eye-witness account of the trial presents the reader with all the evidence and testimony while also placing it in the context of a society and justice system that are being stretched to breaking point.

Since 1994, Antony Altbeker has worked on issues relating to crime, policing and the criminal justice in government and in a variety of think-tanks. He is also the author of A Country at War with Itself and The Dirty Work of Democracy.

With corruption and fraud endemic in democratic South Africa, whistleblowers have provided an invaluable service to society through disclosures about coverups, malfeasance and wrongdoing. Their courageous acts have resulted in the recovery of millions of rands to the fiscus and to their fellow citizens as well as in improved transparency and accountability.

But in most cases, the outcomes for the whistleblowers themselves are devastating. Some have been gunned down in orchestrated assassinations, others have been threatened and targeted in sinister dirty-tricks campaigns. Many are hounded out of their jobs, ostracised and victimised. They are pushed to the fringes of society.

These are the evocative accounts of South Africa’s whistleblowers, told in their own voices, from across the country. The Whistleblowers also advocates for a change in legislation, organisational support and social attitudes in order to embolden others to have the courage to step up

In 2003, Thabo Jijana's father was gunned down in a scrap between rival taxi associations who had been forced to operate from a single rank. A decade later, Thabo faces up to South Africa's most violent industry to try to figure out how and why his father was murdered.

In this searing first-person investigation, Thabo puts a face behind a recurrent tragedy that plagues South African working class communities. By speaking to the people who knew his father best he tries to fill in the blanks that are the years that have followed his father's death.

He begins by trying to reconstruct the night the murder took place, but what he uncovers about the ongoing strife that has plagued government's consistent attempts to formalise this multi-million rand industry comes with more baggage than he expected.

Policing in Africa is often portrayed as being practised by incompetent and corrupt apologists for governing regimes. Professional policing, on the other hand, is the opposite of populist, incompetent, corrupt and regime-partisan policing. A professional police agency is dependent on solid competence acquired through learning interventions aimed at the type of police service delivery that will suit a democratic society and an adherence to human rights principles. Policing in Africa: Towards an African Epistemology aims to provide some knowledge towards the achievement of exactly that type of police service delivery.

In this book the authors present a dialectic of African preference and northern epistemology, and aim for synthesis between the two. The foundational epistemological discourses typical of African continental thinking on matters of community importance are the focal point. The book emphasises the strengthening of policing epistemology through research and people development. This, in turn, aims to bolster policing practices such as the prevention of crime through the ubiquitous quest for community partnerships, peace, conflict resolution and effective resolving of committed crimes.

Policing in Africa: Towards an African Epistemology is designed for studying and reflection. Learning outcomes guide, new terms enlighten, and critical thinking activities and case studies support reflection. The authors express the wish that this book will be of value to students, facilitators of learning, policy makers, oversight agencies, civil society organisations, libraries and communities in the broadest definition possible.

A propulsive and moving memoir about a brother’s decades-long investigation into the circumstances surrounding his sister’s tragic death—and his own journey to forgiveness and closure.

On a summer evening in 1974, Jim Thomson arrived home from a baseball game to the news that his younger sister, Eileen, had taken her own life. To Jim, his parents, and his brother, Keith, the loss was unexpected and devastating. Only twenty-seven years old, Eileen had been living in California with her high school sweetheart, Vic, a cop, surrounded by a circle of close friends and working at a job she loved. It seemed unfathomable that she would kill herself, but as the family gathered in Pittsburgh to say goodbye, more details emerged that seemed to explain the tragedy: Eileen had confided in her parents that she had been suffering from depression, and her storybook marriage had been plagued by bitter fights, infidelity, and guilt. When Jim eventually sat down with his brother-in-law to talk about the final hours of Eileen’s life, Vic looked him in the eye and explained that he had stormed out of the room in the midst of a volatile argument. Moments later, a gunshot went off. Sensing no lies or evasion, Jim believed him. He recounted the story to the rest of the family, and they got on with their lives as best they could.

Twenty-seven years later, with all of his family passed away, Eileen’s death began to nag at Jim. Now a writer, he wanted to fill in the blanks of her story and answer the questions that were plaguing him. What had the final months of Eileen’s life been like? Why had she not told him about her troubles? How had the infidelity in her marriage brought her and Vic to that fateful day, and who else had been a part of it? What other demons had she been battling?

Determined to uncover the truth, Jim hired a private investigator to help him. Together, they tracked down Eileen’s old friends and clandestinely obtained copies of police reports, which revealed that Vic and Eileen’s relationship—and the sheriff’s investigation that followed her death—was much darker and more complicated than they had imagined. Torn by doubt, Jim began a two-decade journey that took him from the streets of Pittsburgh to the hills of San Bernardino, leading him into a tangled web of secrecy, deception, and shifting stories that forced him to reconsider everything he thought he knew about Vic, Eileen, and himself—and to confront the chilling question of whether his sister had really taken her own life.

Told with the precision and pace of a whodunit and the searing emotion of a family saga, A Better Ending is an unforgettable tale about the love between siblings, the murkiness of truth and memory, and the path to acceptance.

Why do so many South Africans prefer taking the law into their own hands to relying on the police? Why are those who do so often cheered or sympathised with?

Of the unprecedented 27 000 recorded murders in South Africa in 2022, at least 1 894 – or 7 per cent – were attributed to mob justice and vigilantism, more than double the number from five years before. In the first nine months of 2023, a further 1 472 mob justice deaths had already been registered.

Mob justice is nothing new, but in recent years it has taken on an undeniably desperate, furious edge. From the breathtakingly violent Zandspruit massacre in May 2021, to the killings during the July unrest two months later, to the march of Operation Dudula across the nation in 2022, vigilantism – and the condoning of it – has never before captured the zeitgeist of South Africa so sharply. What has changed in the past few years, and what does it augur for the future?

Following three recent cases of mob justice, from the hellish metropolitan townships of Gauteng to the far-flung bushveld of northern Limpopo, and drawing on extensive research and interviews, Why We Kill explores the roots, realities and consequences of South Africa’s current crisis of vigilantism.

Most serial murderers undeniably spring from abusive or neglected childhoods, and/or are potentially predisposed to various genetic, sociopathic or schizophrenic afflictions, rendering the root cause of their murderous behaviour a complex, lethal combination of factors. What is less credited, however, is the role of pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) in the making of a serial killer.

Narcissistic rage, sexual narcissism, necrophilia and cannibalism are all driven by a need to control and satisfy a grandiose sense of entitlement for personal pleasure, and of those, narcissistic rage is possibly the most dangerous factor of all in the understanding of serial rape and murder. In this riveting book, the author explores the role of NPD through the lived experiences of various serial murderers and showcases the profiles of both infamous and lesser-known serial offenders from South Africa and around the world.

From the blatant, callous criminality of the likes of Jason Rohde, Dina Rodrigues and Henri van Breda to the unspeakable cruelty of serial rapists and murderers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Kobus Geldenhuys (the Norwood killer) and Don Steenkamp (the Griekwastad murderer), this book reveals the role pathological narcissism might have played in some of the most notorious and gruesome criminal cases of our times. Just one warning: Don’t read this book at night!

Crime scene investigation is a practical book dealing with the management, investigation, and control and processing of crime scenes, or scenes of incident, as they are now called. The book explains the important principles of continuity of possession and the importance of preventing contamination of the scene and evidence. It also focuses on the roles of experts and aids who can help investigating officers to solve complex and varied crimes. The book pays particular attention to the administrative process involved in the handling of evidence. This includes: The responsibilities of the investigating officer who has to deal with the incident; The various ways in which a scene of incident can be documented; The handling of people who may be present at the scene; The proper identification, collection, packaging and dispatch of evidence. Two of the unique features of the book is the introduction and explanation of a new investigation principle, namely the Lochner principle, and a new search method, namely the Lochner/Zinn search method.

A Dangerous Love is an exhilarating, true love story that plays out in the chaos and lawlessness of the political turmoil that was South Africa in the late 80s and early 90s. The mayhem and desperation of a country whose social fabric is unravelling is mirrored in Karen Daniels’s own life, and hers is an up-close-and-personal account of life as a young woman of colour in the anarchy of early post-apartheid South Africa.

Karen Daniels was only 21 when she met Martin, a mysterious, dangerous man who, at 22 years of age, had the world at his feet. Captivated by this man, she was soon caught up in a love affair that turned into obsession and violence. Gutsy and charming, Martin wasn’t born into a life of crime and drugs, but his greed and passion soon pulled him into the underworld and he was overcome by a darkness he could not escape.

Hold your breath as Karen takes you with her on a roller-coaster ride into an abyss of armed heists, crime, and violent abuse. Her story shows how having such intense and conflicting emotions for a man – loving him and being petrified of him – is only a few heartbeats away from hate.

Karen’s eventual escape from this life is a success story that has taken her to the heights of the corporate world, and encouraged her to become an advocate for human rights and women empowerment. Her story is one of human resilience, courage and determination. It offers hope to those struggling to break free from their circumstances, and will inspire anyone who wants to live their best life and go from surviving to thriving.

"A tightly coiled story of obsession and crime that plays out in an era of lawlessness" - Terry-Ann Adams, author of Those Who Live in Cages.

Voorwoord deur die outeur en reeksmoordenaar-ondersoeker, Gerard Labuschagne.

Die forensiese patoloog, Hestelle van Staden sien byna daagliks die skadukant van die mens. Sy het al meer as 7000 outopsies behartig waarvan die meerderheid mense aan onnatuurlike oorsake oorlede is. In hierdie boek werp sy lig op nege lykskouings.

Daar is die tragiese storie van baba Letitia Meyer wie se ma volgehou het sy het bloot uit 'n stootwaentjie geval . . . die moord op die bekende musikant Lucky Dube en die outopsie van 'n jong swanger vrou wie se dood medici laat kopkrap het.

Outopsie bied 'n blik op die lewe van 'n forensiese patoloog in SuidAfrika en die uitdagings wat daarmee gepaard gaan.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB 2018 SELECTION

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2018

‘Haunting...beautifully written.’ The New York Times Book Review

‘Compelling.’ The Washington Post

‘Epic...transcendent…triumphant.’ Elle

‘It’s among Tayari’s many gifts that she can touch us soul to soul with her words.’ Oprah Winfrey

‘Tayari Jones’ vision, strength, and truth-telling voice have found a new level of artistry and power.’ Michael Chabon, author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she struggles to hold on to the love that has been her centre. When his conviction is suddenly overturned, he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.

This stirring love story is a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control. An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward – with hope and pain – into the future.

Meet Daisy De Melker, who 'lovingly' prepared a flask of strychnine-laced coffee for her son. She is very different from Najwa Petersen, who carefully planned a 'house robbery' to eliminate her musician husband. Chané van Heerden placed her victim's facial skin in the freezer for preservation, yet Phoenix Racing Cloud Theron wished to dispose of her mother's body before it was even cold. And Dina Rodrigues? She 'wouldn't harm a fly' - but then went and organised a hit on a baby.

Women are not paragons of virtue who cannot commit murder. Nor are they always insane when they do deliberately cause death. And the women with 'blood on their hands' are not homogeneous.

In Blood on Her Hands, award-winning journalist Tanya Farber investigates the lives, minds and motivations of some of South Africa's most notorious female murders, from the poisonous nurse Daisy de Melker, to the privileged but deeply disturbed Najwa Petersen, to the mysterious Joey Haarhoff, who died before revealing the fate of her victims. Written in a style lighter than the subject matter might suggest, Blood on Her Hands will keep you reading until late at night.

This sixth edition of the established work Principles of Criminal Law, now Burchell’s Principles of Criminal Law, includes a number of compelling new features.

Written by three specialist authors – Emeritus Professor Jonathan Burchell, Professor P J Schwikkard and Dr Tshepo Bogosi Mosaka – it contains substantially improved chapters on corruption, substance abuse and organized crime, as well as fuller debate on consent to die with dignity.

It places greater emphasis on customary law and submissions on mistaken belief in consent in rape cases. There are also new chapters on witchcraft and hate crimes (incorporating hate speech).

If this book saves just one person’s life, Leo Prinsloo will be happy.

Leo became an internet sensation after footage of his reaction to an attempted high-value goods-in-transit heist went viral. Stunned by his cool attitude and focused action in a crisis situation, South Africans had an example of what can happen when good people take a stand. With decades of experience in security – first as a policeman, then in the South African Police Service’s Special Task Force, and now providing arms handling and security training in the private sector – Leo has a wealth of knowledge on how to manage life-threatening incidents.

Driven by a desire to empower South Africans and help them claim back their sense of safety, he offers advice for dealing with every risky situation, from how to handle hijackings and road rage, to how to keep your children safe, to the best way to secure your home and business. He also provides comprehensive information about handling firearms and basic first aid.

Leo’s Guide to Not Becoming a Statistic is a guide to living your safest life in South Africa – something which has become increasingly important as our crime statistics continue to rise. Straight-talking and honest – much like Leo himself – it is an easy to use manual that makes keeping safe accessible, with relatable information and easy to implement tips.

Leo says that taking the first step towards securing your safety is the most important, and his book will help you take that step.

Rose West was, on the face of it, a mother living with her family in a semi in Gloucester. But behind closed doors, she was a monstrous killer who, with husband Fred, killed at least a dozen women and girls, including her own daughter Heather, sixteen, and stepdaughter, Charmaine, eight.

Rose was sadistic as both a mother and killer, and all her victims as well as her own children were subjected to horrific sexual violence and torture. Rose did paid sex work in the family home with husband Fred peeping through the holes he had made in the wall and listening on an intercom. They modified the house to take in lodgers and then preyed on them, as well as other young women hitching a lift or waiting for a bus.

In 1972, aged seventeen, Caroline Owens, who had been hired as a nanny, was drugged, attacked and raped, but managed to escape. But she could not bring herself to testify, so the Wests remained free.

Two decades would pass before Rose’s dark secrets were discovered when nine of the victims’ bodies were dug up in the garden and beneath the cellar at the West’s home at 25 Cromwell Street. And now, three decades after this grim discovery, the workings of Rose West’s twisted mind remain as mysterious as who played what role in this husband-and-wife folie à deux.

Using real-life examples, this book asks readers to reflect on how we-as an academic community-think and talk about race and racial identity in twenty-first-century America. One of these examples, Rachel Dolezal, provides a springboard for an examination of the state of our discourse around changeable racial identity and the potential for "transracialism." An analysis of how we are theorizing transracial identity (as opposed to an argument for/against it), this study detects some omissions and problems that are becoming evident as we establish transracial theory and suggests ways to further develop our thinking and avoid missteps. Intended for academics and thinkers familiar with conversations about identity and/or race, Rethinking Rachel Dolezal and Transracial Theory helps shape the theorization of "transracialism" in its formative stages.

The contents are carefully mapped to the WJEC specification and cover all the Assessment Criteria in full, so you can be sure you are studying exactly what you need to. Working closely with the exam board ensures that the book incorporates all the latest changes to the specification, including the new exam question formats and controlled assessment requirements. Other key features of the student book: Each Assessment Criterion is dealt with in its own Topic, with clear headings signposting the content - particularly useful for students and teachers new to the Diploma. There are real WJEC exam questions and practice questions throughout the book, with detailed guidance on tackling them - plus top band answers to WJEC questions to show what is expected. Special sections provide advice on how to deal with the controlled assessments. Case studies and crime scenarios stimulate reflection and provide useful examples for students' answers. Up-to-date content includes the latest statistics and policy developments. Every Topic includes activities for individual and group work to check students' understanding and consolidate and deepen their learning. The attractive, full-colour design and thought-provoking photos stimulate students' interest and engagement. Written by two highly experienced authors, teachers and examiners, the text is accessible to students of all abilities, with clear explanations in straightforward language pitched at just the right level. The book includes a free online resource package, with schemes of work, student workbooks and online activities. This book is the companion volume to Criminology Book Two by the same authors. WJEC endorsement of the book ensures that you have comprehensive, high quality support you can trust.

The Praxis of Justice brings together original contributions on restorative justice centering on the work of Ivo Aertsen, Emeritus Professor of Criminology in the Faculty of Law, KU Leuven. The work of Ivo Aertsen has impacted not only his country, Belgium, but the whole world. In recognition of a worthy life, his friends and colleagues of different generations and from all around the world have created this Liber Amicorum, as a living testament to friendship and accomplishment. The contributions in the book are both diverse and complementary as colours and motives of a tapestry, ranging from fully fledged scholarly reflections to personal anecdotes, memories and letters. The book will be especially interesting for anyone interested in restorative justice in general, and in the work of Ivo Aertsen in particular.

Environmental devastation. Local militancy. Smuggling. Violence. All of these describe the Niger Delta, the crude-oil extraction center of Nigeria.

Philip Aghoghovwia offers a unique interpretation of the region's petroviolence, examining the cultural aspects of the extraction industry in the societies within which it operates.

As he considers the charged and often clashing contexts of the industry vs. the ecologies of directly affected peoples/places, Aghoghovwia essentially reframes the environmental challenges that carbon-based civilization poses to local landscapes.

A Chicago journalist reveals how pervasive police misconduct, brutality, and corruption are changing the perspective of the criminal justice system and eroding the morals of the American people. In this shocking yet fascinating volume, an award-winning Chicago journalist goes behind the headlines to provide a far-reaching analysis of brutality, vice, and corruption among men and women who have sworn to serve and protect. This timely book draws on actual cases to examine the widespread phenomenon of corruption inside law enforcement agencies. It looks at the effort of criminal elements and gangs to infiltrate police departments and the criminal justice system, and it discusses how vigilante justice is encouraged by claims of police misconduct. Of particular importance to readers, the book also exposes the trickle-down effect of police corruption as it affects American values and society as a whole. But the news is not all bad. Police departments across the nation are fighting back against abuse of power, and the author sheds light on the escalating battle they are waging against rogue police officers involved in criminal activity. Through Stanford's investigative work and firsthand interviews with leading law enforcement professionals, readers will be privy to the backstory of the struggle of police commands to insulate their departments against the criminality and corruption so prevalent today. Exposes ever-increasing police corruption and the lures that influence police officers to participate in illicit activities Educates readers about the struggle to rid law enforcement agencies of corrupt officers Examines the ways technology increases the probability of police officers becoming involved in illegal activities, as well as how advances in technology can prevent a crossing of the threshold Features interviews with leading law enforcement professionals who discuss the challenges of police corruption Points out steps that should be taken by law enforcement to curb police corruption, including stricter screening standards and more careful psychological monitoring of law enforcement personnel

For many Europeans, the persistence of America's death penalty is a stark reminder of American otherness. The practice of state killing is an archaic relic, a hollow symbol that accomplishes nothing but reflects a puritanical, punitive culture - bloodthirsty in its pursuit of retribution. In debating capital punishment, the usual rhetoric points to America's deviance from the western norm: civilized abolition and barbaric retention; 'us' and 'them'. This remarkable new study by a leading social thinker sweeps aside the familiar story and offers a compelling interpretation of the culture of American punishment. It shows that the same forces that led to the death penalty's abolition in Europe once made America a pioneer of reform. That democracy and civilization are not the enemies of capital punishment, though liberalism and humanitarianism are. Making sense of today's differences requires a better understanding of American society and its punishments than the standard rhetoric allows. Taking us deep inside the world of capital punishment, the book offers a detailed picture of a peculiar institution - its cultural meaning and symbolic force for supporters and abolitionists, its place in the landscape of American politics and attitudes to crime, its constitutional status and the legal struggles that define it. Understanding the death penalty requires that we understand how American society is put together - the legacy of racial violence, the structures of social power, and the commitment to radical, local majority rule. Shattering current stereotypes, the book forces us to rethink our understanding of the politics of death and of punishment in America and beyond.

Studente sal hierdie boek van groot waarde vind by hulle studie van die Strafprosesreg. Dit maak lesers vertroud met die fundamentele beginsels en waardes onderliggend aan hierdie gebied van die reg en lei hulle stelselmatig deur die proses wat op strafsake van toepassing is.

Professor J P Swanepoel (voormalige staatsadvokaat met beduidende praktiese ondervinding in die strafhowe) en Professor J J Joubert is beide afgetrede lede van die Departement Straf- en Prosesreg van die Universiteit van Suid-Afrika. Professor S S Terblanche (voorheen ’n landdros) is ’n lid van die Departement Straf- en Prosesreg van die Universiteit van Suid-Afrika en het al ruim bygedra tot die literatuur met betrekking tot vonnisoplegging. Professor S E van der Merwe was professor in Publiekreg aan die Universiteit Stellenbosch en is steeds ’n produktiewe skrywer oor hierdie vakgebied. Professor G P Kemp is ’n lid van die Departement Publiekreg van die Universiteit Stellenbosch en sy publikasies oor die strafregspleging verwys gereeld na sy spesialiseringsgebied, die internasionale strafreg. Professor D Ally is Hoof van die Departement Regte van die Tshwane University of Technology en het ’n aantal artikels geskryf met die strafproses as onderwerp, en met besondere verwysing na die impak van die Grondwet op die strafproses. Dr M T Mokoena is Hoof van die Departement Straf- en Prosesreg van die Universiteit van Suid-Afrika en lewer publikasies oor die strafprosesreg, insonderheid borgtog.

Female Fear Factory is the much-anticipated follow up to the 2016 Sunday Times Alan Paton Award winner Rape: A South African Nightmare.

Where Rape: A South African Nightmare introduced strategies for disrupting rape culture at an individual level, Female Fear Factory offers an even bolder vision for collective action against all cultures of sexual violence.

Like the previous book on which it builds, Female Fear Factory fuses intellectual rigour and extensive research, written by one of South Africa's keenest minds, award-winning Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola.