The Contribution of William J. Clarke to Criminal Investigation in South Africa
| Author | E.E. Poodhun |
| Published date | 01 October 1988 |
| Date | 01 October 1988 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X8806100410 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
DR E.E. POODHUN
SeniorLecturer -Department
of
Criminology, Univ.
of
Durban-Westville
THE CONTRIBUTION OF
WILLIAM J. CLARKE TO
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
IN SOUTH AFRICA
William James Clarke joined the Mounted Police Force on his arrival in
Natal at the age of 18 and served in the Zulu War. Having studied the
circumstances under which the Metropolitan Police had come into being
in 1829 he advised amalgamation of all the police forces in the Colony, not
excluding the railway and water police or even the messengers of the
Court. Just as Colonel Rowan had done, he insisted on "the entire
separation of the judicialfunctions of the magistracy from those belonging
to the detective and preventive functions of the police".
In 1880 there were no police stations in the countrydistrictsof Natal.
A Mounted Police Force was established in 1873 to control a population
of tribesmen scattered over a mountainous terrain and in possession of
almost inaccessible locations. To meet the criticism that up-country
districts were virtually unpoliced a number of stations were formed with
six troopers under a corporal or sergeant. The police had to perform both
military and civil functions at the same time.
A body of men employed for the detection of crime was little
removed from an absurdity. In 1892 a magistrates' commission reported
that "for the prevention and detection of crime the Natal Mounted Police
had been to a large extent a failure". It advised the creation of a new
department under a chiefcommissionerwho would exercise control over
every police unit in the Colony. Suggestions for police reform were
invited from the police themselves. The Commandant of the Mounted
Police Colonel Dartnell knew that one of his sub-inspectors had definite
ideas on the subject of reorganization. He was William James Clarke.
Clarke's scheme commended itself to Harry Escombe, the new
Attorney General. The main organisational features were embodied in the
provisions of Act No.1 of 1894 usually referred to as "The Police Act".
The Regulations of the Natal Police Force issued by the Governor in
Council on July 30, 1894 stated inter alia, "that all reports concerning
losses of stock by theft or otherwise, descriptions of persons wanted, etc.
shall be forwarded direct to the officer of the Department who would
circulatetheinformation and if necessary the particulars would be printed
October1988 359
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