CRIME IN CONTEXT

Crime in South Africa remains one of the country’s most significant social and economic challenges. While criminal behaviour is often viewed as the result of individual choices, extensive criminological research shows that offending is shaped by a complex interaction of environmental, social, psychological, and biological influences.

This engaging one-hour webinar explores the broader contexts that contribute to criminal behaviour, providing participants with an evidence-based understanding of the factors that increase or reduce the likelihood of offending. Drawing on contemporary South African crime trends and real-world examples, the session examines how poverty, inequality, unemployment, family dynamics, trauma, exposure to violence, community disorganisation, and social exclusion influence criminal behaviour. It also considers the psychological and neurobiological processes involved in decision-making, while highlighting that biology alone does not determine criminal behaviour.

Participants will gain valuable insight into the importance of prevention, early intervention, rehabilitation, and community resilience as essential components of long-term crime reduction.

What we will dive into:

• Understanding Crime in Contemporary South Africa
• Environmental and Social Influences on Criminal Behaviour
• Psychological Factors and the Role of Neurobiology
• Building Safer Communities Through Prevention and Resilience

Whether you work in criminal justice, education, social services, security, community development, or simply want a deeper understanding of crime in South Africa, this webinar offers practical insights into the complex factors that shape criminal behaviour and the evidence-based approaches that can help build safer, more resilient communities.

SPEAKERS

Natalie Donaldson is the Head of Postgraduate and Professional Programmes at the South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP), a role spanning postgraduate programme leadership, research supervision oversight, and postgraduate and professional programme governance across all of SACAP’s faculties and campuses.

Natalie earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education and a Master of Social Science in Psychology from Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, and is currently completing a PhD in Education at Rhodes University.  Over the course of an almost two decade long academic career, Natalie has taught at Rhodes University, the University of Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape, and at SACAP, has supervised numerous Honours and Master’s research projects, and has published peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, both locally and internationally. Natalie’s research and teaching interests lie in exploring the intersectionality of gender, race, and sexuality, and the ways in which these identities shape people’s lived experiences in South Africa. This lens extends into Natalie’s current work in higher education leadership, informing an ongoing interest in how legitimacy, access, and identity intersect within postgraduate education in the South African context.

Caitlin Jade Van Niekerk is a criminologist and academic based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She specialises in Criminology, forensic studies, qualitative research, and higher education pedagogy, with extensive experience in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, curriculum development, research supervision, and academic mentorship.

She obtained her Bachelor of Social Science degree in Criminology and Business Management from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), followed by a Bachelor of Social Science Honours degree in Criminology and Forensic Studies, which she completed cum laude. She subsequently completed a research-based Master of Social Science in Criminology and Forensic Studies and is currently in the final examination stage of her PhD in Criminology and Forensic Studies

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