With its broad spectrum of issues and wide variety of authors, the Crime Quarterly is of great value in providing multiple perspectives to often very complex questions, and guiding public opinion on crime and safety issues in South Africa’, says Gideon Morris, Head of the Department of Community Safety, Western Cape Government.

Since 1997, the South African Crime Quarterly (SACQ), published by Governance, Crime and Justice division at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), has been the only open access journal in South Africa in the field of violence prevention, crime reduction and criminal justice.

It is also the only criminology journal currently on the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) index, a cooperative digital library of open access journals established in Brazil and currently used in 12 developing countries.

‘The Crime Quarterly has developed into a truly multidisciplinary journal with rigorously written articles that pass academic muster but remain accessible to policymakers,’ says Chandré Gould, editor of the SACQ and senior research fellow at the ISS.

What sets the SACQ apart from other journals is its applied policy focus. The journal has a diverse audience, including policy makers, criminal justice practitioners and civil society researchers and analysts. This means it can inform and influence policy making on violence prevention, crime reduction and criminal justice.

‘I have read the Crime Quarterly for many years and continue to find it to be a good resource to government and civil society organisations, including the community policing forums in the Western Cape,’ says Morris.

The SACQ is a good resource for community policing forums

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SACQ is accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and recently signed a publishing agreement with the Academy of Science of South Africa, which secures the journal’s listing on the SciELO index.

‘The journal has also become a platform for up and coming authors from a wide range of institutions,’ says Gould. It is guided by a highly skilled and well-respected editorial board of South African and international academics and criminal justice practitioners. The journal also offers postgraduate students an opportunity to learn about journal publishing through their involvement as voluntary sub editors.

The journal presents recent research results on crime, criminal justice, policing, prisons and incarceration, crime prevention, and criminal justice policy and legislation. Special editions are the most popular among readers and focus on issues that are in the news during that time. The issue on the Traditional courts bill was launched at a public seminar and placed on the desks of members of parliament and the National Council of Provinces.

Although South Africa is currently the primary focus for the journal, articles that reflect research and analysis from other African countries are considered for publication if they have lessons for South Africa.

credit link:  https://www.issafrica.org/iss-spotlight/iss-crime-journal-provides-valuable-research-thats-available-to-all

The article was first published by The Institute for Security Studies (http://www.issafrica.org) and is republished with permission  granted to www.oasesnews.com