“"[A] cogent and well-informed discussion of the South African Police Service and the organisational problems it faces." —Stephen Elli Mark Shaw examines how law enforcement and the legal system have changed since South Africa's transition to democracy by addressing how a police force like that of the old apartheid order, which was so effective in defending the government and its policies, could become so ineffectual in the face of rising crime.”

“Shaw has written a short but very concise treatment of crime and law enforcement policies in post-apartheid South Africa. In the preface, Shaw asks .. how could a police force like that of the apartheid order, which was such an effective instrument in the defense of the old system, seem so powerless in the face of rising lawlessness? From the mid 1990s to the present, the state of South Africa has experienced a crime wave that threatens not only the nation's democratic institutions, but also its very survival as a geopolitical entity. Shaw draws upon his wide experience in law enforcement positions in South Africa, including the Center for Policy Studies in Johannesburg, the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, and the South African Department of Safety and Security. This work not only illuminates the criminogenic aspects of South African society today, but international dimensions of South African crime as well. Upper-division undergraduates and above.February 2003”
 — J. C. Watkins, Jr., University of Alabama