Browsing by Subject "Hawks"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Open Access
    After Glenister: The case for a new dedicated agency
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2012) Reeves, Christopher
    Last year, the Constitutional Court held that the state has an obligation to establish and maintain an independent anti-corruption entity and that the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), which is located within the South African Police Service (SAPS), does not have an adequate degree of independence. A Bill has recently been introduced in the National Assembly to address the issues raised in the judgment. In accordance with the proposed amendments, the DPCI would remain part of the SAPS. This article argues that this is a mistake and that a wholly separate anti-corruption entity should be established. It also examines the legal and institutional framework required to establish an effective, specialised anti-corruption entity through a comparative analysis of other anti-corruption agencies.
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    Open Access
    Feeling the Hawks: Why an anti-corruption agency should not be in the SAPS
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2012) Kinnes, Irvin; Newham, Gareth
    The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), commonly known as the ‘Hawks’, is currently at a crossroads. The Constitutional Court judgment in Glenister vs the President of South Africa and Others has called into question the Directorate’s continued existence in its current form. One of the most important questions raised by the Constitutional Court judgment is whether the DPCI can be sufficiently independent while located within the SAPS. This article presents arguments in support of the view that separating the unit from the SAPS is essential to build public confidence in the unit and to meet the requirements of the judgment.
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    Open Access
    Is multiple nest building an adequate strategy to cope with inter-species nest usurpation?
    (2016) Sumasgutner, Petra; Millán, Juan; CURTIS, ODETTE; Koelsag, Ann; AMAR, ARJUN
    Abstract Background Black sparrowhawks (Accipiter melanoleucus) recently colonised the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, where the species faces competition for their nest sites from Egyptian geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca) which frequently usurp black sparrowhawk nests. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that multiple nest building by black sparrowhawks is a strategy to cope with this competitor, based on a 14-year long term data set. Results Two main results support the hypothesis: first, the numbers of intact nests per breeding season in black sparrowhawk territories increased as levels of geese interactions increased, specifically when usurpation occurred. Usurpation occurred significantly more often at nests later in the season, and may provide a further explanation for the advancement of the black sparrowhawk breeding season towards earlier breeding attempts which results in an overall extension of the breeding period (over 9 months) that has been found in our study population. Second, nest usurpation had a negative impact on black sparrowhawks’ reproductive performance at the ‘nest’ level, but not at the ‘territory’ level when multiple nests were available within the same breeding season, suggesting that this strategy was effective for dealing with this competitor. However, our results do not rule out long term negative consequences of these interactions, for example, reduced adult survival rates or reduced lifetime reproductive success, due to the higher energy demand required to build several nests each breeding season. Conclusions Our results suggest that black sparrowhawks avoid direct conflict with this large and aggressive competitor and instead choose the passive strategy in allocating more resources to multiple nest building. Our research further highlights the importance of behavioural plasticity, which might be especially important for city-dwelling species in the face of global urbanisation.