{"id":239080,"date":"2021-11-09T15:39:50","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T14:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/?p=239080"},"modified":"2021-11-09T15:39:53","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T14:39:53","slug":"hawks-south-africa-police-functions-and-contact-details","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/hawks-south-africa-police-functions-and-contact-details\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawks South Africa Police Functions and Contact Details"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crime is no doubt a big issue in South Africa. The South African Police Service<\/a> is often overwhelmed by situations requiring their attention. Following the Apartheid regime and its characteristic brutality towards the natives, civil rights unions were formed to fight for freedom, and along the way, some of these groups took up arms. When South Africa became a state, crime was already rife in the Rainbow nation. This necessitated the creation or emergence of subunits within the nation’s security force. Hawks is one of such security units.<\/p>\n

When was the Hawks Established?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Hawks, which is the popular name for South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), was established in 2008. The need arose from the alleged abuse of the constitutional rights of certain individuals, which was seen as undermining the country’s nascent democracy. A national debate started, and the Zuma administration eventually saw the need for a more democratized security unit that would not be used for political witch-hunting.<\/p>\n

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (The Hawks) was set up as an independent entity within the South African Police Service under the leadership of Jacob Zuma<\/a> with its headquarters at Pretoria, South Africa. The directorate was legally backed by Section 17C of the South African Police Service Act of 1995, which was amended by the South African Police Service Amendment Act of 2008, commonly referred to as Act 57 of 2008. The directorate has been headed by the following since its inception:<\/p>\n