International assistance and focal pressures in the reform of policing: The case of the Eastern Cape

Abstract

One of the largest donor-funded projects since 1994 concerning reform of South African policing is described in this paper. The project, Assistance to Policing in the Eastern Cape, targeted policing work in a province acknowledged to rank lowest in the country on numerous human development indicators. The paper outlines the various components of the project, sketches the overall implementation of its objectives, and attempts to arrive at a provisional assessment of the project's impact in an environment inhospitable for administrative efficiency. It concludes with a brief review of developments at the end of the project cycle.

Keywords:

• Assistance to Policing in the Eastern Cape (APEC)
• South African police reform
• foreign aid and police reform
• developmental assistance and policing policy
• ‘good governance’ in policing
• community policing
• policy transfer in policing
• policy convergence in policing